The revelations publicised in recent weeks regarding the deletion of WhatsApp messages have been distressing for those who lost loved ones during Covid.

As the UK Covid Inquiry got underway there were question marks over the evidence submitted by the Scottish Government, or lack thereof.

It appears that SNP ministers and senior civil servants made the judgement that it would be better to suffer the accusations of a cover-up than to have the public learn the truth of how decisions were made.

To attempt to deliberately withhold evidence, and in some cases destroying it, after giving repeated assurances that would not be the case is a low from which personal reputations within the SNP will never recover.

Having been confronted with public anger and threatened with legal action, SNP ministers now appear to have sent the Covid inquiries more ‘suddenly discovered’ submissions.

But quantity does not equal quality. Jason Leitch, a senior member of the government, says that he deleted his messages daily, and the former First Minister wrote a ‘war and peace’ submission of smoke and mirrors to the inquiries, while failing to say that she also manually deleted her WhatsApp messages.

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We believe First Minister Humza Yousaf actually misled Parliament, given the statements he made in the chamber in June and again in October and November, confirming that all officials past and present did comply with a “do not destroy” notice. Mr Yousaf also confirmed that everything had been handed over in full but that turns out not to be the case.

So it appears that SNP politicians and civil servants did not comply with a “do not destroy” notice issued by the UK Covid Inquiry, and failed to comply with the Scottish Government's own document retention policy.

But we should not be surprised. SNP ministers have form with key documents exposing government failures disappearing or being kept secret – you only need to look at the ferry debacle or the obstruction in the Salmond inquiry to know the truth of that.

Over the years too many important meetings have mysteriously been held without civil servants taking a minute of their proceedings.

Ministers, including Nicola Sturgeon, have been criticised for using personal or party email addresses for government business. There is an SNP culture of secrecy which has infected government.

That withholding of evidence like this is disrespectful and insulting to bereaved families who lost loved ones to Covid and I know that the impact of the pandemic was felt by local people across Dumbarton, the Vale of Leven, Helensburgh and Lomond.

SNP ministers have done their utmost to ensure that they do not co-operate meaningfully with either of the inquiries. For that contempt, they will be judged.