Covid Inquiry - Institute for Government blog Follows The Process of the UK Inquiry

30th October 2023

Inquiry reminds us of widespread use of WhatsApp in government
It is not news, but it is still useful to see: the evidence released by the Covid Inquiry includes WhatsApp messages from people across government during the pandemic, from Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings, to senior civil servants and scientific advisers. People in government use WhatsApp for the same reason everyone else does: it is quick, easy and convenient. When senior people are going from meeting to meeting, a quick message can be easier than making a phone call or sending an email. And of course, during Covid, it was harder than usual to meet face-to-face, so WhatsApp proved key to keeping in touch.

The WhatsApp messages that have so far been released cover conversations between the prime minister and his advisers, scientific advisers and a group including Matt Hancock, political advisers, scientific advisers and civil servants. They show how WhatsApp was used by the prime minister to ask questions on key policy points, by his advisers to recommend particular courses of action, and by many in government to share key information and answer questions from journalists and others.

This is now the norm inside government. As such, we have argued that ministers and officials should use the app on government-issued devices when discussing government business, rather than on their personal phones. This would help ensure that the information discussed remains in government hands, avoiding the farce of ministers being unable to provide messages to the inquiry. At the same time, it is important that WhatsApp isn't used for in-depth decision making - it does not lend itself to considered discussion as effectively as other forms of communication.

To their credit, based on the extracts released by the inquiry, this does not seem to be how ministers and officials were using the messaging service. When Johnson sent 30 questions to his team, for example, an adviser said they would "ask the team to draw up responses to the above", rather than coming back immediately with short answers that would not cover the detail. But of course this is just an extract. Given how widely WhatsApp is now used by ministers and officials, ensuring that government business is conducted on government phones will mean that all relevant messages can be kept for posterity - and examined properly by any future inquiries.

Listen to Dr Catherine Haddon discuss WhatsApp and the Covid Inquiry on BBC's Newscast.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gmzhh3

Follow all the updates at https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/covid-public-inquiry-live-blog

See the Scottish Covid Inquiry HERE