How to watch Nicola Sturgeon at the UK Covid inquiry today

Nicola Sturgeon, the former Scottish first minister, is appearing before the Covid inquiry in Edinburgh, in what is expected to be a revealing session.

The Scottish politician is expected to be heavily cross-examined on a range of issues, such as the deletion of WhatsApp messages and her political agenda during this period.

Over the past year, Ms Sturgeon has been forced to resign and was later arrested over a scandal surrounding the SNP’s finances.

When is Nicola Sturgeon giving evidence?

Nicola Sturgeon is giving evidence now in Edinburgh as part of the Covid inquiry.

How can I watch live?

You can watch the inquiry live below.

What has Nicola Sturgeon said so far?

During evidence given by Ms Sturgeon’s former chief of staff, Liz Lloyd, last week, it was revealed that the former first minister had referred to then prime minister Boris Johnson as “a f**king clown” in a text exchange.

She added that “his utter incompetence in every sense is now offending me on behalf of politicians everywhere”.

Ms Lloyd stated in the exchange that Mr Johnson was using “15 minutes between the rugby and Strictly to lock the country up”, to which Ms Sturgeon responded: “We’re not perfect but we don’t get nearly enough credit for how much better than them we are.”

When asked by Channel 4 News in August 2021 if she would “guarantee to the bereaved families that you will disclose emails, WhatsApps, private emails”, Ms Sturgeon responded that she would give “an assurance” that communications would be retained.

But this has not happened, with Jamie Dawson KC, counsel to the inquiry, stating earlier this month that the former first minister appeared to “have retained no messages whatsoever” on WhatsApp from when she led Scotland through the pandemic.

Ms Sturgeon admitted in a statement that she had deleted some messages, but insisted that she “was able to obtain copies which I submitted to the inquiry last year”.

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“To be clear, I conducted the Covid response through formal processes from my office in St Andrew’s House, not through WhatsApp or any other informal messaging platform. I was not a member of any WhatsApp groups. The number of people I communicated with through informal messaging at all was limited.”

Speaking on Wednesday, she said that there was a “high degree of formality” in Covid-era decision-making by Scottish ministers, and that all matters of “substance” were recorded in official channels.

She added that during the pandemic she was being asked to take decisions which she and other politicians had never experienced before, adding that she “thinks about them every day”.