Information Commissioner To Investigate Scottish Government Over Whatsapp Use

6th February 2024

The Scottish Information Commissioner has launched an Intervention into the Scottish ministers' practices in relation to use and retention of WhatsApp and other informal communication messages.

Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton said: "My office has launched an Intervention into the Scottish ministers’ practices in relation to the retention of informal communications. The evidence disclosed during Module 2A of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry Hearings over the last few weeks raises significant practice concerns which warrant further investigation by my office.

“The failure to retain or even record a complete set of the decision-making processes has not only deprived the Inquiry of information, but also frustrated the public’s right to request information and generally undermined the spirit of freedom of information.

“It is critical that public officials retain information which allows the public to understand how decisions are reached, for both record keeping requirements and to maintain public confidence. Understanding how decisions are reached is how public trust in decisions are secured and lessons learned for the future.

“It is evident from this week’s events that the use of informal communication channels presents risks to transparency and accountability within government. My intervention will review current practices as well as identifying actions to be taken to ensure improvements are made in relation to how officials and ministers use and retain informal communications in future."