As the hearing gets going, counsel to the Inquiry Jamie Dawson KC refers to Nicola Sturgeon's witness statements and runs through her CV and her time as first minister during the pandemic.

Dawson asks if Sturgeon and her government were "open, transparent and accountable" in her actions and words.

"Yes, that is still my position," replies the former first minister.

"We will not have got every decision right and we will have made misjudgements and there will be undoubtedly instances put to me today where, on reflection, I will think we could have been more transparent than we were."

She says building a relationship of trust with the public was important and that had to be built on a spirit of openness.

Image source, Covid Inquiry

Nicola Sturgeon is being sworn in and will now begin what promises to be a gruelling - and hopefully enlightening - day of evidence.

Stay with us as we bring you all the news lines and analysis.

You can also follow the inquiry live by clicking Play at the top of the page.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've mentioned, today is not the first time Nicola Sturgeon has been grilled by the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. Last June the former first minister told the inquiry that Scotland's planning for a pandemic had been hampered by preparation for a no-deal Brexit.

Here's a quick recap of Sturgeon's first evidence session:

• The former first minister said the Scottish government had had "no choice" but to put efforts into the possibility of a no-deal on Brexit and away from other planning
• She said every form of Brexit was a "false economy", but was chided by Hugo Keith KC saying she was in a witness box and not a soap box
• Sturgeon began her evidence by admitting that while officials had done their best to do the right thing, mistakes had been made
• She agreed that a UK Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy – produced in 2011 following the swine flu outbreak two years before – had been inadequate to deal with Covid-19
• But she suggested that a lack of contact tracing and testing capability had been more important to Scotland's response to the Covid crisis

It's almost time for Nicola Sturgeon to be sworn in, and for today's Covid inquiry hearing to get going.

Yesterday, former Deputy First Minsiter John Swinney - once Sturgeon's right-hand man - was grilled on whether Sturgeon made decisions about Covid restrictions without properly consulting her cabinet. He was also asked about deleting messages to his then boss.

It'll be interesting to see what Sturgeon's asked on the same topics.

We're here, with colleagues in both our Glasgow and London newsrooms, ready to bring you live updates and analysis once Sturgeon's in place.

And remember, you'll be able to watch the session live by tapping Play at the top of the page.

Kirsten Campbell
BBC Scotland political correspondent

As Scotland's longest serving First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is well used to answering questions. After all she spent 45 minutes in front of MSPs every week at First Minister’s Question time.

And it's not her first rodeo in terms in of all day sittings in front of an inquiry. Three years ago she spent eight hours giving evidence to the Holyrood committee investigating the Scottish Government's handling of harassment complaints against Alex Salmond.

She's a politician who's usually across the detail, but she's also skilled at deflection. The last time she appeared before the UK Covid inquiry she was warned she was in a witness box not a soapbox and to stop making political arguments.

As well as the UK Covid Inquiry which is now visiting Edinburgh, and in front of which Nicola Sturgeon will appear this morning, there is also the Scottish Covid Inquiry under way which is taking a very different approach.

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry began last August and has already heard from a number of people involved in Scotland's response to the pandemic - including the former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon herself.

But its scope is much broader as it covers the impact of the pandemic and decisions taken by the UK government for the whole of the UK.

The Scottish inquiry is only investigating policy areas under the control of the Scottish government.

The UK and Scottish inquiries have agreed, where possible, not to sit at the same time when they are considering material which is relevant to both to try and cut down on any confusion for the public.

One of the areas which the inquiry is focusing on is the impact that devolution across the UK had on the pandemic response.

The UK government led some areas of the response, such as working out a vaccine strategy, but devolved administrations such as the Scottish government decided on other areas like when to reopen schools.

This led to tension, and constitution expert Professor Ailsa Henderson has already told the UK Inquiry that politics and not public health influenced some of the positions taken by the UK government.

In October, she told the inquiry there was a “clear effort to control or handle one of the first ministers in particular, there is a fear of federalism, there is a fear of leaks, there is a perceived kind of venality or self-serving nature to the motives of the devolved administrations and never a reflection that this might also be true for all actors”.

Image source, PA Media

It was busy at the Covid inquiry yesterday - we heard from two senior members of former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's government during the pandemic.

Former Deputy FM John Swinney discussed, among other things, deleting Covid-related messages to Sturgeon. Here's what else he told the inquiry:

• Deleting messages was in line with government policy and he made sure his private office was told of any relevant material
• Scotland's former education secretary said he felt there was no alternative to closing schools during the second lockdown
• He rejected suggestions that Sturgeon took decisions herself, without consulting her cabinet, but admitted some choices - including closing schools - were taken by him and Sturgeon alone
• Swinney was questioned on the so-called gold command meetings - gatherings involving Sturgeon, a small group of advisers and ministers - and admitted notes should've been circulated

Before him, we heard from former Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, who said she wasn't initially invited to these special meetings. She also said:

• She did not delete any of her WhatsApp messages with senior colleagues during the pandemic - she told the inquiry that she later became aware of a policy that required this to happen
• She admitted there should have been "a lot more discussion on how to budget for the pandemic" ahead of her first Budget in March 2020

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

The relationship between the UK and Scottish governments during the pandemic will come into sharp focus during Nicola Sturgeon's evidence session, which will get under way at about 10:00 GMT.

A lot of the positive areas of cross-border co-operation, such as the vaccine programme, will be highlighted but a number of points of tension will also be examined.

This is likely to include changes in messaging by the UK government which the Scottish government did not follow.

For example, in May 2020 the then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a new slogan for people to "stay alert, control the virus and save lives".

But the then-First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who said she'd had no notice of the change, said there should be a "simpler" message and that people in Scotland should still stay at home.

The UK Covid inquiry began on 28 June 2022.

It is chaired by former judge and crossbench peer Baroness Hallett, who previously led the inquests into the 7 July London bombings.

Originally announced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, it will look at how decisions on limiting the spread of Covid were made and communicated, the use of lockdowns and face coverings, the impact of the pandemic on children and health and care sector workers as well as the protection of the clinically vulnerable.

The inquiry will cover decision-making by the UK government and in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

• You can read more here.

Was Scotland's Covid response just Sturgeon calling the shots?published at 08:38 Greenwich Mean Time 31 January

08:38 GMT 31 January

Kirsten Campbell
BBC Scotland political correspondent

As this stage of the inquiry, when it is focusing on Scottish government decision making, it’s perhaps inevitable that we’re seeing the same questions being asked of different ministers.

And that means we can take an educated guess at some of the issues which may be raised with the former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

She’ll certainly be asked about the deletion of her WhatsApp messages, with the inquiry questioning whether it was the government’s policy or ministers’ understanding of it that was at fault.

Was the Scottish government slow to respond to early warnings about the virus?

Did the Scottish cabinet make the decisions or was Nicola Sturgeon “calling the shots” and having the cabinet rubber stamp what she decreed?

To what extent was the Scottish government hindered by the fact that the Treasury controlled the finances?

Did she “jump the gun” in banning mass gatherings?

Was it really necessary to close schools?

Nicola Sturgeon will spend several hours before the inquiry today, answering these questions and more.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the UK Covid Inquiry, with proceedings due to get under way in Edinburgh at around 10:00.

Today is all about former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who will be the only witness called, and she will be asked to explain the Scottish government's response to the pandemic.

We’ll bring you text updates, context and all the analysis you need right here.

If you want to watch the hearing live, stick with us and tap the 'play' icon at the top of the page in about half an hour.