The Covid Inquiry has been informed that electronic devices issued by the government have been wiped, resulting in the loss of WhatsApp messages sent by former Stormont ministers during the pandemic. This includes the devices of former first minister Baroness Arlene Foster and deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill. Counsel to the inquiry Clair Dobbin expressed “grave concern” over the loss and noted that the inquiry had sought information on informal communications sent by former Northern Ireland Executive ministers or senior civil servants. WhatsApp messages sent by UK ministers have also been featured separately in evidence given to the inquiry, relating to decision making by the government.
After the inquiry was established in 2021, the permanent secretaries of all devolved departments were contacted to ensure no material of potential relevance to the inquiry was destroyed. In August 2023, The Executive Office (TEO) notified the inquiry team of a potential loss of data in relation to the Northern Ireland Civil Service-supplied devices that were held by former Executive ministers and senior civil servants. TEO informed the inquiry that the government-supplied devices of Baroness Foster and Michelle O’Neill had been reset to factory settings, and that no data was available from those devices.
Ms Dobbin noted that informal communications such as WhatsApp messages “may be of forensic value in preserving what individuals thought or knew at a given point in time”. Efforts are still ongoing to recover some of the lost material, and the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Jayne Brady, has been asked to provide a witness statement to explain the circumstances surrounding the loss.
Overall, the wiping of the devices has raised concerns about the use of informal communications and the potential impact on the inquiry’s findings. While the absence of power-sharing arrangements has added to the pressures on departments and civil servants in responding to this inquiry, the inquiry has already received more than 35,000 documents of evidence from Stormont departments, including notes and minutes of Executive meetings and briefing papers. A barrister representing the Northern Ireland Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group has called for an independent investigation into the data loss, citing concerns over the potential extent of lost material
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