Nicola Sturgeon slams Ross' 'absurd line of questioning'

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Shirley-Anne Somerville, 47, instead described the plan to saw off part of classroom doors as just one element in an “example scenario”. The Dunfermline MSP also claimed the £300,000 move would only have been introduced if other measures aimed led to changes in the air pressure or made doors harder to open.

However, Ms Somerville’s comments were ridiculed after she sent a letter to Holyrood’s Education Committee setting out the proposal.

She also revealed last week around 2,000 classrooms had been identified as having “problematic” carbon dioxide levels due to inadequate ventilation.

The Scottish Education Secretary said a total of £5million would be needed to cover the costs of sawing off the bottom of classroom doors, the filtration units and extraction fans.

It is expected to cost £150 to shorten each door.

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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, 51, defended the plan as “common sense” after Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, 39, branded the proposal as “bonkers”.

Willie Rennie, 54, who led the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2011 to 2021, said: “The Education Secretary is stretching credibility to claim that this is all a deliberate misunderstanding when it was her that provided detailed costings for getting it done.”

But the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service and Fire Brigade Union warned removing the bottom of doors could help smoke and fire spread if a blaze broke out at a school.

They also called for an urgent meeting with the Scottish Government over the plans.

North East Scotland’s Tory MSP Tess White, 56, asked on Tuesday whether Ms Somerville entered talks with the FBU.

However, the Education Secretary responded by insisting “we have no such plans”.

Ms Somerville added: “Contributions in this chamber last week were based on a willful misunderstanding of examples of mitigations that local authorities may implement under certain circumstances to improve ventilation in problematic spaces in schools.”

However, Ms White said: “This is an astonishing rewriting of history by the SNP’s education secretary.

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“She clearly can’t accept her bonkers plan was rightly met with derision from parents and experts alike.

“She cannot seriously try and claim there was a wilful misunderstanding of the proposals when Nicola Sturgeon defended them in parliament last week.”

Children in Scottish schools continue to wear face masks in the classroom.

The same restriction was lifted in England on January 20.

However, the Telegraph reports Ms Sturgeon is expected to set up her blueprint for Scots to live with the coronavirus on February 22.

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