Ken Thomson has taken up a director post with the Scottish International Education Trust.
A Scottish education charity first set up by Sir Sean Connery has announced that a former government official who urged colleagues to delete WhatsApp messages has joined their team.
Messages from Ken Thomson, who served as director general for strategy and external affairs under Nicola Sturgeon, were noted on multiple occasions throughout the UK Covid Inquiry.
Writing in 2020, he told a colleague: “Just to remind you (seriously) this is discoverable under FOI. Know where the 'clear chat' button is.
"Plausible deniability are my middle names. Now clear it again."
He later wrote in 2021: “I feel moved at this point to remind you that this channel is FOI recoverable."
This message also included a zipped mouth emoji.
Mr Thomson left his job as chair of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland’s (ICAS) regulation board, less than a month into the role, after the messages came to light.
Former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, described Mr Thomson as having acted with “the utmost integrity and utmost professionalism”.
As reported in the Herald, Mr Thomson has taken on a new role "providing governance and administration advice" as director of the Scottish International Education Trust (SIET).
Mr Thomson’s position was noted in an update by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointment (Acoba). Acoba is a watchdog, independent of government, which advises ministers and senior officials on jobs they take up after leaving government.
The advice for Mr Thomson stated: “The Scottish Government confirmed that Mr Thomson did not make any decisions in office that were specific to SIET, nor did he make any policy, regulatory or commercial decisions that would have directly affected SIET or the sector it operates in.
“Mr Thomson did not meet with SIET as part of his role as Director General Strategy and External Affairs and the Scottish Government has no known relationship with SIET. Therefore, the Committee considered that the risk this appointment can be perceived as a reward for actions or decisions taken in office is low.
“There is a risk that Mr Thomson’s network and influence might assist the Trust unfairly in regard to providing access to government.Mr Thomson confirmed his role will not involve contact with government, which is expected under the government's Business Appointment Rules.”
Acoba made a series of suggestions to Mr Thomson to limit the risk to the government or the perception of impropriety in his new role with SIET. These include limiting his use of contacts gained within his previous role.
Ginnie Atkinson, chair of the Scottish International Education Trust, told the Herald: “Mr Thomson was appointed in January 2024, after his retirement from the Civil Service, to support the work of the Trustees.”
The SIET was established by Sir Sean Connery in 1971 and allows Scottish students who show exceptional ability and promise to apply for financial help to further their studies or professional training.
A spokesperson for SIET told TFN: "First of all Ken Thomson joined the Trust on 1st January - so is not 'joining'.
"The Trustees are ultimately responsible for the governance and decisions of the Trust. We are satisfied that Mr Thomson supports the work of the Trust well in the area of his new part-time role and he has an appropriate skillset to do this given his long career in the Civil Service.”
