THERE was applause in the studio of BBC Question Time after a member of the audience spoke to defend Nicola Sturgeon’s record on the pandemic.

The moment came as the political debate show was broadcast from Glasgow on Thursday night, with a line up of Scottish politicians including SNP MSP Kate Forbes and Labour’s Ian Murray.

The first question being discussed was whether the UK Covid Inquiry, which had just heard from Nicola Sturgeon and Alister Jack in evidence sessions, had “exposed a lack of transparency in the Scottish Government”.

READ MORE: 'Those are my questions': Alister Jack's inquiry session lasts just 80 minutes

The question came despite Jack having admitted earlier that day that he had deleted every single WhatsApp from during the pandemic.

One audience member spoke to contrast the treatment of the UK Government and the Scottish Government, and was met with applause.

They said: “I find the hypocrisy quite breathtaking actually. You have a former prime minister who was heading up a culture of partying, law-breaking, corruption, cronyism in money, and has not submitted a single WhatsApp with the most ridiculous excuses.

“You’ve got a current Westminster Prime Minister [Rishi Sunak] who also hasn’t submitted a single WhatsApp. He can’t recall anything. I think it was 30 odd times during this.

“And I feel that Nicola Sturgeon has been, it’s just a witch hunt. I actually think she has stood up for Scotland. I think she did what she could in the most trying situations, and this is absolutely political. I think it’s a disgrace.”

READ MORE: BBC Question Time: How many times did Fiona Bruce interrupt the panel?

Former prime minister Boris Johnson did hand over WhatsApps to the inquiry, but around 5000 messages from January to June 2020 were lost.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not hand over any WhatsApps, saying all of his informal messaging from February 2020 till February 2022 was not retrievable.

Sturgeon’s WhatsApps with key allies were retrieved from the other side after she deleted them from her end. Messages exchanged between her and her former chief of staff Liz Lloyd before September 2020 were also lost.

The audience member who was applauded on Question Time later wrote about their experience on social media.

"Well, isn't this lovely!" they said. "Bar a few middle-of-the-night twits,  sitting in their bedroom amidst a sea of discarded snack wrappers and used tissues, clacking away typing their dull abuse (blocked), the majority of feedback has supported both the words and the sentiment. TY [thank you]."

SNP MP Pete Wishart said of the audience member's contribution: "Quite remarkable the change in the public mood over all of this in the last 24 hours. You won’t see it in the press but it is happening."