The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has shown Nicola Sturgeon to be a “liar” and a “fraud”, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross insisted, as he accused the former first minister of “destroying vital evidence” by deleting WhatsApp messages from the time of the Covid pandemic.

With successive Scottish Government ministers having given evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry over the last two weeks, the Conservative leader sought to pile pressure on SNP ministers.

Ms Sturgeon, the former Scottish first minister, who appeared before the inquiry on Wednesday, insisted that she had only “very rarely” used informal messaging.

She added that she deleted these messages, in line with official advice, saying the “salient” points were all transferred on to the corporate record.

Former deputy first minister John Swinney and others, such as the Scottish Government’s national clinical director, Professor Jason Leitch, have also told the inquiry they deleted messages.

“No-one will ever refer to Mr Swinney as honest John ever again,” Mr Ross said.

“And sleekit Sturgeon will be remembered for deleting vital evidence on an industrial scale, denying grieving families the truth they deserve.”

He spoke out in a debate at Holyrood in which the Tories called for Ms Sturgeon and Mr Swinney, as well as current First Minister Huzma Yousaf, to be referred to the independent adviser to consider if they have breached the ministerial code.

He made the comments as he said Mr Yousaf had “told the inquiry he had deleted all his messages but told the public he had retained them”.

With public inquiries taking place both across the UK and in Scotland into the way the pandemic was handled, Mr Ross hit out at the “appalling culture of secrecy” that he said had “permeated through every level of this rotten SNP Government”.

He added: “We now know that the perception that the Scottish Government was better, was whiter than white, was only achieved because they were frantically deleting every shred of evidence that would show otherwise.”

Recalling that Ms Sturgeon had previously said nothing would be “off limits’ for the inquiries, Mr Ross told MSPs at the time she made these comments she had already deleted her messages.

“What a fraud this woman was,” he said.

The former first minister deliberately made statements she knew to be untrue and deleted key evidence she knew would be requested

Branding the Scottish Government’s lack of transparency on such matters as “truly unforgiveable”, Mr Ross told MSPs: “Nicola Sturgeon should be apologising for destroying vital evidence.

“Nicola Sturgeon should be apologising for misleading the press and the public about deleting those messages.

“Nicola Sturgeon should be apologising for breaking a clear promise to be open.

“Nicola Sturgeon should be apologising for her secrecy, her dishonesty and her arrogant disregard for transparency.”

He continued: “Rules of this Parliament prevent me from describing Nicola Sturgeon using the only language I think truly reflects what she did.

“So, while I am not allowed to say Nicola Sturgeon is a liar and the UK Covid Inquiry has exposed her lies, let me say this – the evidence proves the former first minister deliberately made statements she knew to be untrue and deleted key evidence she knew would be requested.”

The current Scottish Deputy First Minister, Shona Robison, insisted however that she did “not believe the work of the inquiries is being hampered” by the deletion of messages.

She added: “I believe they are being robust and will get to the truth of the matter and will put on record their analysis of what they believe has taken place.

“They will hold politicians to account throughout these islands for the decisions that they made.”

The Deputy First Minister told MSPs the Scottish Government had handed over “more than 19,000 documents and almost 28,000 messages” to the Inquiry.

And she hit out at the Tories for what she said was a “partisan” debate, taking place at Holyrood “before the UK Covid Inquiry has even finished taking evidence in Scotland”.

Meanwhile, SNP backbencher Ruth Maguire accused the Conservatives of “grandstanding” in the debate.

Ms Maguire said: “I won’t be the only person in this chamber who lost someone during the pandemic and will be finding this debate quite despicable.

“We’re serious politicians in a serious place, it would be good if we could talk about the actual issues, rather than grandstanding.”

However, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also accused the Scottish Government of having a “culture of secrecy and cover-up”.

Mr Sarwar, speaking to journalists at Westminster, said there was “huge sense of betrayal” among the public about what had happened.

He told how people in Scotland had thought the former first minster was “someone that was standing up, telling the truth and being straight up with them and trying to navigate the best way through the pandemic”.

But Mr Sarwar said: “There has been such a huge breach of that trust now, and such a sense of betrayal, that is going to rightfully anger so many people across the country.”

He added: “The SNP has been caught out. The veneer has smashed around Nicola Sturgeon’s presentation. The trust is broken with the Scottish people.”