Scotland's chief medical officer apologises for 'political' retweet

Dr Gregor Smith has been Scotland's chief medical officer since April 2020

Scotland's chief medical officer has apologised for appearing critical of the UK government on social media.

Sir Gregor Smith retweeted and later deleted a tweet from Health Secretary Humza Yousaf.

It accused the prime minister of attempting to distract the public from the ongoing "partygate" scandal by scrapping self-isolation in England.

Sir Gregor said his retweet was an attempt to "contribute to the debate on the isolation period".

Twelve gatherings at Downing Street and Whitehall are still being investigated by the Metropolitan Police.

The force is also reviewing its previous decision not to investigate a Christmas quiz in No 10 in 2020, after the Mirror published a photograph of Mr Johnson with three aides - wearing tinsel and a Santa hat - near a bottle of sparkling wine.

It has also announced that it would be emailing more than 50 people as part of its existing inquiry into lockdown parties.

The scandal has threatened Boris Johnson's premiership.

• Johnson broke law over No 10 parties, says Sir John Major

• Police to email 50 people in Downing Street party inquiry

• PM pictures in No10 Christmas quiz last year

Mr Johnson announced on Wednesday that the legal duty to self isolate in England would end later this month provided that "encouraging trends" continue.

But Mr Yousaf said: "Let's call it what it is, this announcement is an attempt to distract & deflect scrutiny over PM's behaviour.

"We haven't seen detail (doubt they have thought it through) and have asked for public health advice this decision was based on, unsurprisingly it hasn't been forthcoming."

Sir Gregor was criticised from opposition politicians after retweeting the statement without comment on Wednesday.

On Thursday, he said: "Yesterday, I RT a message from the Cab Sec as an attempt to contribute to the debate on the isolation period.

"However, on reflection it is clear this contained political messaging alongside the public health info. I have therefore withdrawn the RT and apologise for passing it on."

Scottish Tory public health spokeswoman, Sue Webber, said the retweet was "inappropriate" for the chief medical officer, who is a civil servant and as such is expected to remain politically neutral.

She said: "The Civil Service Code emphasises the need for impartiality and objectivity.

"Those requirements appear to have been clearly broken in this instance.

"He has done good work throughout the pandemic but should be above these SNP political attacks."

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "The chief medical officer has deleted the retweet and apologised. We have received the letter from Ms Webber and will respond in due course."