The key points from Nicola Sturgeon’s day of evidence at the UK Covid Inquiry

Former first minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has finished giving evidence in person to the UK Covid Inquiry.

She answered questions for a full day on Wednesday from the inquiry’s lead counsel Jamie Dawson KC.

– Confirmation of WhatsApp deletion

Around an hour was spent at the start of the day discussing the use of WhatsApp during the pandemic and the deletion of messages.

While WhatsApp had become “too common” a means of communication within the Scottish Government, she said government decisions were not made on the messaging platform and were recorded officially.

Ms Sturgeon acknowledged there were instances where the government could have been more transparent but, overall, said it had been “open, transparent and accountable”.

She said that from 2007 onwards she did not keep messages on her phone for security reasons.

Under questioning from Mr Dawson KC, she directly confirmed that she had deleted the messages.

The Scottish Covid Bereaved group later said they were not satisfied with the former first minister’s explanations.

As discussion over the use of WhatsApp continued, Ms Sturgeon was asked about an answer she gave to a journalist during one of her media briefings in August 2021.

At the time, she said any inquiry would have access to the messages but, in fact, many had been deleted some months previously.

The former SNP leader acknowledged she could have been more “clear” in her answer to Channel 4’s Ciaran Jenkins and apologised for any lack of clarity.

– Chief regret was not locking down sooner

Not locking down “a week, two weeks earlier” at the start of the pandemic is likely her chief regret, Ms Sturgeon said.

She said the UK Government was “often the outlier” when it came to four-nation decision-making with regards to the pandemic.

There was an emotional moment around midday as Ms Sturgeon choked back tears, saying there was a “large part of me” who wished she was not first minster during Covid.

She also spoke of feeling “overwhelmed” at times in the early days of the crisis.

Later in the day, she again fought back tears as she said she takes it “very personally” when her motives behind actions during the pandemic are questioned.

– Ms Sturgeon described policy as ‘random’ in message exchange

The inquiry was shown a message exchange between Ms Sturgeon and her former chief of staff Liz Lloyd.

During the October 2020 exchange, Ms Sturgeon said she is “having a crisis of decision-making” over hospitality, adding “it’s all so random” when discussing restrictions on restaurants.

Ms Sturgeon told the inquiry she did not think there was anything in the exchange which would not be recorded in Cabinet minutes or in the public record.

She added: “This is why I don’t think WhatsApp should be used to have substantial discussions – four years on we can put on a different interpretation.

“But there were moments that whatever we would do would cause difficulty and harm for somebody.”

The former first minister denied making pandemic decisions for political reasons, adding she had not “thought less” about politics and Scottish independence in her life than she did during the pandemic.

UK minister Michael Gove previously accused the Scottish Government of seeking “political conflict” during the pandemic.

She said: “I was motivated solely by trying to do the best we could to keep people as safe as possible.

“We did that to some extent, but not to, and perhaps we never could have done it to the extent I would have wished we could have done.

“I carry the regret for the loss of life, the loss of opportunity, the loss of education of our young people, I carry that with me every single day.”

– Decision on Nike conference would be different with hindsight

Ms Sturgeon said that, with hindsight, she would have taken a different decision around the disclosure of the coronavirus outbreak at a Nike conference early in the pandemic.

Former chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood had advised the Scottish Government it should not be disclosed on grounds of patient confidentiality.

Details of the outbreak, which took place in late February 2020, only emerged in a BBC documentary in May that year.

Ms Sturgeon rejected accusations of “secrecy” by her Government about its actions early in the pandemic.

The inquiry was shown an email which voiced concern the Spanish government would block an independent Scotland from joining the EU if travel restrictions during the pandemic remained.

It was sent from the email address of then deputy first minister John Swinney, but signed off by someone named Scott.

The email stated: “It won’t matter how much ministers might justify it on health grounds, the Spanish government will conclude it is entirely political; they won’t forget; there is a real possibility they will never approve EU membership for an independent Scotland as a result.”

Discussing the email, Ms Sturgeon said: “These are decisions that were taken for public health reasons that were difficult decisions.”