Summary

  • Scotland's former deputy first minister John Swinney, appearing before the UK Covid Inquiry, admits intergovernmental relations at the time of the pandemic was "pretty poor"

  • However, he adds that there was a good amount of co-operation and "reasonable practical engagement" between the four nations

  • Earlier, Scotland's former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told chairwoman Lady Hallett that UK-wide emergency planning worked well in general, but it could be "ad hoc" in nature

  • She added that the Scottish government had "no choice" but to put efforts into the possibility of a no deal on Brexit and away from other planning

  • Sir Jeremy Farrar, a member of the Sage group of scientists who advised the government on Covid-19, was the first witness at today's session

  • You'll be able to watch the day's evidence sessions by clicking the Play button at the top of this page

  • The Covid-19 Inquiry was set up to examine the UK's response to pandemic - this phase is focusing on preparedness

Live Reporting

Edited by Nichola Rutherford

  1. Ministers are blaming everyone apart from themselves – lawyer

    Laura Foster
    Health reporter at the UK Covid-19 inquiry

    Aamer Anwar

    The lawyer representing Scottish families whose relatives died during the pandemic has been speaking outside the inquiry this morning.

    Aamer Anwar said the “Scottish Covid bereaved have grown tired of watching minister after minister operate in a culture of impunity, a culture of denial and blaming everyone apart from themselves.

    “Today families wish to hear truth and accountability from Nicola Sturgeon, former first minister as well as from the former deputy first minister John Swinney.”

  2. Why did Jeremy Farrar resign from Sage ?

    Farrar resigned from Sage in October 2021. He said it was to spend more time on his day job running the Wellcome medical charity.

    But he warned that the Covid crisis was “a long way from over.” He also highlighted the “huge pressure” faced by Sage scientists to provide "vital evidence, and independent, expert, transparent advice".

    Farrar wrote in his book that he had considered resigning from Sage in September 2020 because he disagreed with government policies such as the Eat Out To Help Out scheme.

    He also lamented the government’s delay in introducing a further lockdown until November 2020.

  3. What is Sage?

    The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) provided scientific advice to the government during the pandemic - they did not make decisions or set policy, but made recommendations.

    Members included the government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty and several other eminent scientists who were top experts on infectious diseases, public health and other areas.

    The group advised on strategies to prevent the spread of the disease and what restrictions to introduce.

  4. Who is Jeremy Farrar?

    Jeremy FarrarEPA

    Sir Jeremy Farrar was a prominent government scientific advisor during the pandemic and a vocal critic of the government’s handling of the crisis. He now works as chief scientist at the World Health Organisation.

    During the pandemic, he was director of the Wellcome medical charity and a member of the independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) - more of that to come.

    Farrar was one of the scientists calling for a lockdown in March 2020 when coronavirus cases were rising in Italy and France.

    Later on he was scathing about the government’s Eat Out To Help Out scheme, and he wrote in his memoir Spike: The Virus vs The People that he felt in summer 2020 that not enough had been done to plan for the winter.

  5. Welcome

    Jamie Whitehead
    Live reporter

    Good morning and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the UK Covid inquiry.

    We’re expecting to hear from a key scientist today - Sir Jeremy Farrar. He was a member of Sage, the government’s scientific group set up to advise the government.

    Then we’ll hear from former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, as well as former deputy first minister John Swinney.

    Stay with us for the latest, and remember you can watch the proceedings by clicking on the play button above.