A BBCQuestion Time audience member defended Nicola Sturgeon after the former first minister faced criticism for deleting WhatsApp messaged on her mobile phone. The comments appeared to refer to the time the Covid Inquiry spent discussing the use of WhatsApp during the pandemic and the deletion of messages. On Wednesday (31 January), Ms Sturgeon said she did not keep messages on her phone for security reasons from 2007 onwards, and directly confirmed that she had deleted the messages. Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross accused the former first minister of “destroying vital evidence”. The Question Time audience member described criticism of Ms Sturgeon as a "witch hunt."