Nicola Sturgeon criticised by Wootton over pandemic handling

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Scotland now has the highest COVID-19 infection rate of any country in Europe. The Scottish Labour Party has demanded Holyrood is recalled amid fears the virus is “out of control”.

Richard Allison, from Edinburgh, took aim at Ms Sturgeon’s coronavirus record, via a letter to The Scotsman.

He wrote: “Before the Scottish election, the First Minister pretty much had her own TV channel, courtesy of the subservient BBC, but now we seem rarely to hear from her!

“It has become abundantly clear what a shocking decision it was to allow thousands of football supporters (many without tickets) to travel to London and back with non-existent social distancing and to allow so many to gather in Glasgow in supposed ‘fan zones’.

“Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director, advises the Delta variant ‘seeded’ in Glasgow, Scotland’s most populated city – who would have guessed?

“We are now advised that two of our areas, Lothian and Tayside, are at the top of the World Health Organisation table, with infection rates well above 1000 per 100,000 of the population.”

Data released at the end of June, by Public Health Scotland, linked nearly 2,000 coronavirus cases to fans watching Euro 2020 matches.

Some two-thirds of the 1,991 COVID-19 cases were linked to fans travelling to London on June 18, to watch Scotland play England.

Thousands of Scotland fans gathered in London ahead of the June 18 match, many without tickets.

Only 2,600 tickets were made available for Scotland supporters in Wembley.

Other fans congregated around Leicester Square and Hyde Park, with video footage showing many ignoring social distancing guidelines.

Mr Allison argued the surge in Scottish cases strengthens the case for a public inquiry into Ms Sturgeon’s handling of the pandemic.

He wrote: “The Scottish public have been force-fed the fantasy story that the First Minister has ‘managed’ this pandemic in a controlled and informative manner, differing regularly from England in a positive way.

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“Indeed, last summer she advised that Covid was close to ‘elimination’ in Scotland.

“Whilst she remains quiet at this time, it is now pressing that a full Public Inquiry as to the handling of these events by the First Minister and her Government is held immediately.

“As with her failures in domestic policy, it will be seriously uncomfortable for her and her administration and it is time for the truth to be revealed.”

NHS Lanarkshire is discussing pausing some “elective care services”, to free up resources for the fight against coronavirus.

Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson, warned the service is “at breaking point”.

Heather Knox, the NHS Lanarkshire chief executive, wrote to staff about the grave situation.

She said: “The challenges caused by pressures on our emergency departments, rising Covid numbers and workforce pressures, are causing difficulties for staff across both acute and community services.

“I have asked my team to both look at what we can do to release more staff to support and also sadly to consider if we now need to pull back on some of our elective care services.

“Tomorrow our senior team will hold a Gold Command meeting where we will identify solutions to the current challenges.”

The UK has recorded more than 128,000 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic began.
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