Pressure Mounts on First Minister Over Pandemic Response
Scottish First Minister John Swinney is facing urgent demands to issue a formal apology for his role in the Scottish Government's heavily criticised response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The calls come following the publication of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry's devastating report, which highlighted significant failings in both Westminster and Holyrood's handling of the crisis.
As deputy First Minister and education secretary during the initial outbreak, and later as Covid recovery secretary, Mr Swinney was at the heart of decision-making throughout the pandemic. Despite this central role, he left his deputy Kate Forbes to respond to the inquiry's damaging findings when they were released on Thursday.
Bereaved Families Accuse SNP of 'Slow Response'
The Scottish Covid Bereaved group has accused the SNP leadership of being 'too slow to act' during the critical early stages of the pandemic. Shockingly, the inquiry revealed that Covid-19 was relegated to 'any other business' at a Scottish cabinet meeting as late as 25 February 2020, despite alarming surges of cases appearing across Europe.
Margaret Waterton, who lost her 86-year-old mother to Covid in June 2020, expressed the frustration felt by many grieving families. 'We were sitting at home watching the pictures coming from Italy and other countries across Europe,' she told BBC Radio Scotland. 'So we knew there was something terrible coming our way, and they were just slow to act.'
Cross-Party Demands for Accountability
Opposition parties have united in their calls for Mr Swinney to address Parliament personally regarding the inquiry's findings. Tory MSP Murdo Fraser, his party's shadow Covid recovery secretary, stated that 'families bereaved by Covid will rightly be furious' if the First Minister doesn't answer questions promptly.
Scottish Labour deputy Dame Jackie Baillie emphasised that 'unlike his WhatsApp messages, he cannot delete the evidence and pretend that his hands were not all over this mess.' This reference follows controversy surrounding the deletion of WhatsApp messages that should have been preserved as evidence for the inquiry.
Baroness Hallett's comprehensive 800-page report delivered severe criticism of the Scottish Government's approach. She highlighted how February 2020 represented a 'lost month' for pandemic preparation across the UK, with the 'lack of urgency' and failure to take emergency steps described as 'inexcusable'.
The report also criticised former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon for sidelining her cabinet and making unminuted decisions within a small 'Gold Command' group, thereby undermining governmental transparency. Baroness Hallett further described Ms Sturgeon's ambitious plan to eliminate Covid from Scotland as 'inappropriate and destined to fail' given the open border with England.
While Mr Swinney has expressed 'heartfelt sympathies' to those who lost loved ones and stated that he regrets people's suffering, he has stopped short of issuing the formal apology that opposition politicians and bereaved families are demanding.
A Scottish Government spokesman maintained that their 'full focus throughout the pandemic was on protecting the people of Scotland.' Meanwhile, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton joined the chorus of voices calling for greater transparency, noting that 'grieving relatives have been forever denied an understanding of the rationale behind life-or-death decisions by the actions of SNP ministers.'
