What are they hiding?

Government by WhatsApp has let Ministers sidestep scrutiny and accountability.

Both Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson ‘lost’ electronic messages relevant to the Covid Inquiry. Another Minister lost his phone that may, or may not, have contained evidence vital to investigating fraud on Covid contracts.

But this problem is not exclusive to Westminster. Former First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, deleted all of her WhatsApp messages during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The explanations given are always unconvincing - 'I've lost my phone' or 'I've forgotten my passcode'. These excuses are becoming the modern equivalent of the ‘dog ate my homework’.

People are right to ask – just what might they be hiding?

Messages mysteriously going missing undermine the transparency and accountability that our democracy needs. Without proper transparency, how can we expect people to trust the government?

Retain the messages!

Using WhatsApp and other messaging apps is part of modern society, but Ministers should not be able to hide their communications.

The rules of Government have failed to keep up with modern technology. We must sort this out now to protect any evidence needed for potential future inquiries.

We believe Ministers should be legally obliged to retain all their work-related communications, including WhatsApp messages.

We cannot have Ministers setting their messages to auto delete.

Properly saved WhatsApp messages could provide valuable transparency in government decision-making. Whilst these discussions might have taken place in-person in the past, the advantage now is that we can have recorded evidence.

Let’s bring the rules of government into the 21st century and make sure that Ministers keep hold of their electronic communications.

Otherwise, WhatsApp will become a secret back channel in government communication.

Please sign our petition calling on the Prime Minister to introduce a legal duty for Ministers to retain all job-related communications.