The timeline printed by the Scottish Authorities final Wednesday confirmed particular requests for its Whatsapp messages had been made by the inquiry in February.
READ MORE: Yousaf and Robison accused of deceptive Holyrood over Covid WhatsApps
Nonetheless, each Mr Yousaf and Ms Robison had beforehand acknowledged the messages had been requested for in September.
“The preliminary requests acquired from the UK Inquiry targeted on decision-making. As we have now acknowledged beforehand, it isn’t the tradition inside Scottish Authorities to routinely use techniques akin to WhatsApp for decision-making.
“Choices are routinely made in minuted conferences or by means of formal submissions to ministers. All related information of each of those have been supplied to each inquiries already,” Ms Robison instructed Holyrood in a press release on October 31.
“The UK Inquiry requested in June for summaries of all WhatsApp and related teams associated to coordination, logistics and day-to-day communication – significantly increasing the scope of what the Scottish Authorities wanted to collate and course of accordingly. This request was adopted in September by a request for the precise messages exchanged inside these teams.”
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf refuses to refer himself to ethics adviser in Covid row
Mr Yousaf instructed MSPs on November 2 that the request for the messages had been made by the UK Inquiry in September.
“The messages had been requested for in September, only a matter of weeks in the past,” he acknowledged then.
At First Minister’s Questions final week, Mr Yousaf rejected claims he and his deputy misled Holyrood over the matter.
Nonetheless, he admitted that his authorities had interpreted requests for messages from the inquiry “too narrowly” and famous the Scottish Authorities had now handed over 14,000 messages.
Requested to confess he “didn’t inform the reality” by Scottish Conservative chief Douglas Ross on Thursday, the First Minister mentioned: “I completely refute that. Clearly I used to be speaking about particular WhatsApp teams. [What] I do settle for totally from the inquiry is that we have now interpreted their requests too narrowly and subsequently having performed so we have now then equipped 14,000 messages to the inquiry.”
Following FMQs he refused to refer himself to his impartial adviser on the ministerial code saying there was “no want to take action” after leaving the Holyrood chamber.
On Wednesday this week, the Scottish Tories will use their debating time to accuse Mr Yousaf and Ms Robison of intentionally deceptive the parliament.
If they’re discovered to have deliberately performed so, they are going to be “anticipated to supply their resignation”, based on the ministerial code.
“Humza Yousaf and Shona Robison – the 2 most senior members of the SNP authorities – have intentionally misled the Scottish Parliament,” mentioned Mr Ross.
“That’s the reason my occasion will use our debating time in Holyrood to induce the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to refer themselves to the impartial adviser on the ministerial code.
“Solely then can the entire reality be totally uncovered as as to whether or not they’ve fallen in need of the requirements that the general public anticipate them adhere to.”
Mr Ross added: “I’d urge Humza Yousaf and Shona Robison to refer themselves to the impartial advisor on the ministerial code in order that we will perceive why they misled Parliament.
READ MORE: Matheson urged at hand over iPad to Holyrood for browser to be checked
“MSPs from all events have to get behind our movement to face up for the integrity of the Scottish Parliament.”
Scottish Labour deputy chief Jackie Baillie mentioned: “The SNP should lead by instance and are available clear on the precise particulars of this scandal.
“Humza Yousaf has contradicted himself so many occasions that it’s now arduous to maintain monitor. The grieving households on the coronary heart of this inquiry deserve higher than this.
“The First Minister should make sure that all materials is handed over, whether or not it is WhatsApp messages from former and present ministers, SNP secret e mail accounts and all authorized recommendation, in order that the inquiry may be allowed to do its job correctly. The households deserve nothing much less.”
On the finish of the Scottish Parliament’s proceedings on Wednesday night, Ms Robison raised a degree of order to alert MSPs to the publication of the timeline on the UK’s inquiry’s request.
It confirmed the inquiry had first requested for WhatsApp messages in February.
The timetable reveals that the inquiry made a draft request of the Scottish Authorities on November 4, 2022, asking whether or not WhatsApp teams had been utilized by the federal government. In February 2023, it requested for “communications regarding key choices” together with emails, texts and WhatsApp messages.
The Scottish Authorities mentioned it submitted draft responses by means of the spring of 2023. Its timetable publication mentioned: “In these responses it made clear that each one key choices and resolution making had been recorded on the Scottish Authorities company document. No WhatsApp messages had been submitted as a part of these responses.”
The UK inquiry made an additional request in June 2023 searching for particulars of the Scottish Authorities’s coverage on casual messaging. This requested for the names of any such teams, their members and their roles.
In September 2023, the inquiry requested for the messages inside these WhatsApp teams to be handed over. Requests had been despatched to ministers, civil servants and former ministers in July and August this yr.
The Scottish Authorities mentioned there was a “great amount of delicate and private info contained inside the WhatsApp messages” and to adjust to information safety legal guidelines it requested a Part 21 discover at hand them over. When this was equipped, the federal government was given a deadline of November 6 by which to share the messages.
The movement is unlikely to cross with out help from the Scottish Greens, who’re in a power-sharing settlement with the Scottish Authorities which has granted their co-leaders ministerial workplace.
A spokesman for the Scottish Authorities mentioned: “The First Minister has made clear that neither he, nor the Deputy First Minister, has misled Parliament.
“The Scottish Authorities has labored and can proceed to work tirelessly to supply the UK Covid Inquiry with the supplies it has requested. In complete greater than 19,000 paperwork have already been supplied to the UK Inquiry.”
The impartial advisor – who since 2013 has been James Hamilton – is tasked with assessing if the ministerial code has been breached.
Mr Hamilton beforehand cleared former first minister Nicola Sturgeon of a breach over when she knew about allegations made towards her predecessor Alex Salmond.
