Messages have emerged of Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf admitting to “winging it” during his role as health secretary at the height of the COVID pandemic.

The UK COVID Inquiry has released WhatsApp exchanges between Mr Yousaf and Scotland’s national clinical director Professor Jason Leitch from June 2021.

The discussion happened shortly after Mr Yousaf was appointed health secretary and saw him joke that he was “winging it! And will get found out sooner rather than later”, followed by a laughing emoji.

On the same day of the exchange, the Scottish government issued a “state of the pandemic” document reporting a 35% rise in COVID cases around that time.

Sky News has approached Mr Yousaf’s office for comment.

The UK COVID-19 Inquiry has already heard from Mr Yousaf as it takes evidence during a series of sessions in Edinburgh.

Appearing on Thursday, the now first minister offered an “unreserved” apology for the Scottish government’s “frankly poor” handling of requests from the inquiry for WhatsApp messages to be handed over.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has wiped her messages and Mr Yousaf’s exchanges had to be recovered after also becoming lost. The pair say they were following Scottish government policy on informal messages.

Mr Yousaf said he accepted this would have caused “serious grief and retrauma” for those who lost loved ones and announced an external review into his administration’s use of mobile messaging.

Read more:
COVID adviser Professor Jason Leitch denies daily purge of WhatsApps
Scotland’s chief medical officer told colleagues to delete WhatsApps ‘at end of every day’

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘We should have done better’

Asked about WhatsApp messages from the time of the pandemic, which the inquiry requested from the Scottish government, Mr Yousaf said: “Let me unreservedly apologise to this inquiry, but also to those who are mourning the loss of a loved one, who were bereaved by COVID, for the government’s frankly poor handling of the various Rule 9 requests in relation to informal messages.

“There is no excuse for it, we should have done better and it is why I reiterate that apology today.”

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Mr Yousaf conceded there was “clearly a gap” in the mobile message policy in relation to how material in informal messages should be retained.

Ms Sturgeon will appear at the inquiry on Wednesday.

Related posts:

Watch: Friday’s newspaper front pages Army to shrink to its smallest size since the 1700s under sweeping defence plans UK could face water shortages if action is not taken to conserve supplies Unexploded bomb fears as police and medics in stand-off over where to treat Manchester Arena victims Couple trapped in Ukraine while waiting for baby’s documents as Britons flee country US and allies will ‘respond decisively’ if Russia invades Ukraine, Biden tells Putin in phone call Officer in charge of combatting violence against women casts doubt over government rape targets England experiences driest July for more than a century while UK driest since 1984 Ninth victim confirmed to have died in Jersey flats explosion Ireland clinches Six Nations Grand Slam with victory over England ‘Very concerned’ police release CCTV image in search for missing 15-year-old girl All challenges against govt plans to use RAF bases to house asylum seekers thrown out