Scottish government ministers, including former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, are being investigated for potentially breaking the law by deleting WhatsApp messages related to the Covid pandemic.

The UK Covid Inquiry expressed concerns that these deletions may obstruct its work. The Scottish government has pledged to submit 14,000 messages to the inquiry, excluding minister-to-minister conversations.

Opposition parties accuse the government of destroying evidence and hindering the inquiry. The inquiry issued a "do not destroy" order in August 2022, potentially making message deletions illegal. Critics argue that the government's mobile messaging policy advising deletion after a month could hamper transparency.

The inquiry sought access to WhatsApp messages from 70 officials, medical chiefs, ministers, and former ministers. Concerns also surround an overdue witness statement from Scotland Secretary Alister Jack.

Several senior Scottish government members have faced allegations of deleting messages or using auto-delete functions but have pledged cooperation with the inquiry.

WhatsApp introduced its auto-delete function in November 2020. Some Scottish government messages on Microsoft Teams also auto-delete after five days, but the government emphasized that these should be saved in the official record.