In testimony to the inquiry, a lawyer said that the first minister of Wales was “regularly using [the messaging platform] to discuss policy announcements and even to seek clarification on the rules” according to WhatsApp revelations.
“The limited messages that have been disclosed clearly show WhatsApp and text messages used to discuss government business where they shouldn’t have been,” said Ms Gowman.
“They depict senior special advisers for the Welsh government deleting messages in an unsettling and methodical manner.
“They show special advisers reminding themselves, and others, that they had agreed ‘to clear out WhatsApp chats once a week’.”
The first hearing of the UK COVID inquiry, which examines the actions made by the Welsh government during the pandemic, was place in Wales on Tuesday.
The inquiry will continue until March 14 at the Mercure Hotel in Cardiff.
