Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Shona Robison branded ‘cold fish’ in SNP minister’s leaked WhatsApps

Elena Whitham took aim at Shona Robison and other MSPs in leaked WhatsApp messages.

SNP MSP Shona Robison
Deputy First Minister Shona Robsion's performance in Holyrood was criticised by her party colleague. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson.

Deputy First Minister Shona Robison was branded a “cold fish” in leaked messages sent by fellow SNP minister Elena Whitham.

She was described as “painful to listen to” by her party colleague.

Ms Robison was one of several politicians insulted by Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Elena Whitham in the messages – sent to an internal SNP WhatsApp group and leaked to the Daily Record.

The newspaper reported that Ms Whitham also took aim at fellow MSP Angus Robertson, writing “the ego has landed” after he handed a role in the cabinet following the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

SNP Shona Robison Humza Yousaf
Shona Robison was appointed deputy first minister by Humza Yousaf – but one SNP minister said was an “automaton”. Image: PA.

Referring to a Holyrood speech Ms Robison gave on poverty in 2021 while she was social justice secretary, Ms Whitham wrote: “Shona [Robison] needing to find her stride here. She is struggling.

“It is a great statement and we are doing so much amazing work but she isn’t selling it as well as she could.”

In a follow up message she added: “She is a bit of a cold fish.”

SNP minister: Shona Robison ‘painful to listen to’

In a further attack on Ms Robison’s speaking style, Ms Whitham wrote: “Gosh…I find Shona R painful to listen to.”

Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said the messages show the SNP is in “disarray”,  adding that it was “clear for all to see that Ms Whitham does not hold the deputy first minister in high regard and views Angus Robertson as an egotist”.

She said: “The fact is that this is a party out of ideas, out of control and out of time.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie. Image: PA.

Ms Whitham’s did not reserve her assessments to just her SNP colleagues.

In a message sent about South Scotland Tory MSP Brian Whittle she wrote: “F*** me. Whittle is a p****.”

Ms Whitham apologised for the messages in a statement.

“These comments were not acceptable and I apologise sincerely,” she said.

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy MSP, said the damning leaked messages reveal the “chaos” engulfing the SNP.

He said: “The feuds among the SNP are becoming increasingly bitter and the party looks deeply divided.

Humza Yousaf clearly doesn’t have the leadership authority to crack down on these disputes, otherwise these eye-opening messages would never have seen the light of day.

“As the SNP spend more time throwing insults at each other – as well as her late majesty and one of my colleagues in Elena Whitham’s case – the real priorities of Scotland are being completely ignored.”