Exclusive investigation reveals that government ministers and special advisers are using disappearing messages on WhatsApp, potentially erasing important correspondence. The feature, launched in 2020, allows users to automatically delete messages after a certain period of time.
found over a dozen examples of both ministers and special advisers having disappearing messages activated on numbers linked to them., while two are current Cabinet ministers and two are in Labour’s shadow Cabinet. A further six were special advisers for ministers working across other departments.
Anyone in a chat can disable the feature at any time, regardless of which person in the chat activated it. He continued: “If ministers and officials are intentionally ensuring such conversations are routinely deleted, it will have a significant impact on the ability for them to be held accountable for their decisions by the public they serve.”
While the disappearing messages function itself is allowed by the Government, it is expected that any official using it ensures important information is retained. He added that the was often difficulty creating a distinction between what was government business and what was personal or political when it came to more informal conversations conducted on WhatsApp, rather than via official channels.
Appearing before the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee in June, Information Commissioner John Edwards reiterated concerns that the use of private communication channels for Government business could result in records being lost.
Government Ministers Special Advisers Disappearing Messages Whatsapp Correspondence
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