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The SNP’s deputy leader, John Swinney, squirmed as he was quizzed on whether care home staff are being tested for coronavirus in residences with a lot of cases. He explained that they are “eligible” for testing but couldn’t confirm they had been tested. The BBC’s Nick Robinson asked: “Do you accept that in care homes the situation in Scotland is worse than in England. A pro-independence thinktank in Scotland described it as an ‘unmitigated disaster possibly representing the single greatest failure in a devolved government’. Fair?”

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Swinney said: “No, I don’t think that’s a fair characterisation of the situation at all.

“Obviously we face a challenging situation in care homes because what we know about coronavirus is that it has a disproportionate effect on older, more frail members of our community.”

Mr Robinson added: “The criticism of the policy is not because of the way the disease works, it’s the way government policy works.

“Why, for example, were staff allowed to carry on working at homes with a lot of COVID cases without being tested?”

Mr Swinney replied: “We’ve put in place that testing regime for staff in care homes.

“The government directly supplied PPE to make sure that staff were properly supported.”

The BBC host interjected: “There’s a difference between a testing regime and people getting the test.

“Are all care home workers in Scotland in affected homes now being tested?”

The deputy leader said the workers are “eligible” which sparked Mr Robinson to lash out noting that eligible doesn’t mean they are getting the test.

He added: “You know they’re not getting the tests, don’t you? Which is why half of all deaths in Scotland are in care homes.”

More to follow…

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