Responding to the report, Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser accused the Scottish government of “secrecy and cover-up”.
“Nicola Sturgeon promised in 2021 that nothing would be off limits in providing evidence to a public inquiry – yet we know now that both she and John Swinney shamefully deleted their WhatsApp messages in an orchestrated effort to evade scrutiny,” he said.
“That’s on top of the fact that no minutes were kept of the Gold Command meetings between senior ministers and advisers where the key pandemic decisions were taken.”
Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie said it was “clearer than ever” that the Scottish government was not prepared for a pandemic and “failed to take action quickly enough”.
She added: “This report cements the central role John Swinney played in the SNP government’s pandemic response and it is disappointing that he failed to come to the Parliament to make a statement and take questions on the report himself.
“The first minister owes the people of Scotland a real apology for the decisions he took at this time.”
Following publication of the report, John Swinney posted on X: “My thoughts and heartfelt sympathies continue to be with everyone who lost a loved one to Covid-19 and who suffered so much disruption to their lives.
“It is vital we learn lessons and @scotgov will give the inquiry’s findings and recommendations full and thorough consideration.”
