Whitehall use of WhatsApp poses transparency risks, says data watchdog

The widespread use of WhatsApp by parliamentary ministers and officials in Whitehall poses risks for transparency, the information commissioner has said.

Writing in the Telegraph, John Edwards said there was nothing necessarily wrong with the use of WhatsApp, but that the form of communication did pose questions for current policies and procedures.

His warning follows the publication by the Telegraph of a series of articles, based on a leak of thousands of WhatsApp messages from the former health secretary Matt Hancock, regarding the handling of the Covid pandemic.

The leak came from Isabel Oakeshott, a journalist who had signed a non-disclosure agreement over the messages, and had access to them because of co-writing a book with Hancock based on his experiences as health secretary after the outbreak of the virus.

The revelations have included details of how Hancock clashed with the then education secretary, Gavin Williamson, over school lockdowns and how he attempted to save his career after footage emerged of his embrace with an aide, Gina Coladangelo.