NICOLA Sturgeon broke down in tears as she apologised to the families of all those who died in Scotland due to Covid.
The former FM was in tears over Covid research in the UK when asked about her reaction to the virus in Scotland.
Jamie Dawson KC asked: “The Covid story in Scotland is the story of Nicola Sturgeon’s arrogance, right?
However, Ms Sturgeon denied the suggestion and wept while giving testimony.
She replied, “No. No think that’s the case. I’m lucky I didn’t personally lose to Covid. “
“I wish with every fibre of my being that the decisions my government had been able to take could have reduced the number of people in Scotland who did lose someone to Covid and I am deeply sorry to each and every bereaved person, and each and every person who suffered in other ways.
“I did the best I could, my government did the best I could, and others will judge. But I know that every day I have done my best and those who work with me have done their best to accompany this country through the Covid pandemic in the best way possible.
The former foreign minister choked back tears as she revealed “a large part” of her wishes for not having been prime minister during the pandemic.
Mr Dawson quizzed Sturgeon on messages given to the inquiry between the former First Minister, Humza Yousaf and Liz Lloyd.
She admitted she DID delete WhatsApp messages as she faced a grilling during the inquiry.
Follow our live blog below:
This ends the Scottish Sun’s policy on Nicola Sturgeon in Covid research in the UK.
Thank you for visiting our to stay up to date with this live story.
Thescottishsun. co. uk is your go-to destination for celebrity news, football news, real stories, stunning photographs, and must-see videos.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thescottishsun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheScottishSun.
Protesters booed and shouted “scum” at Nicola Sturgeon as she left Covid research in the UK.
This ends the Scottish Sun’s policy on Nicola Sturgeon in Covid research in the UK.
Thank you for visiting our to stay up to date with this live story.
Thescottishsun. co. uk is your go-to destination for celebrity news, football news, real stories, stunning photographs, and must-see videos.
Like us on Facebook in www. facebook. com/thescottishsun and from our main Twitter account in @TheScottishSun.
Nicola Sturgeon admitted the Scottish Government didn’t get everything right over care homes during the pandemic.
She said: “I don’t think everything is being done right as far as nursing homes are concerned and I do that.
“It’s not because we have no idea what the most productive way to visit other people in nursing homes is. “
Sturgeon insisted that she and her government were doing everything they could to get Scotland through Covid.
She said: “I did my best, my government did our best, and people will judge that.
“But I know that every day I have done my best and those who work with me have done everything they can to guide this country through the Covid pandemic in the best way possible. “
When pressed on the reasons for the decisions she made, Ms Sturgeon was excited about the investigation.
She said, “As long as I live, I will bring the effect of my decisions, I will bring remorse for the decisions and judgments that gave me wrong. “
Through tears, she added: “But I will know in my center and in my soul that my intuition and motivation were nothing more than seeking to be as productive as possible in the face of this pandemic. “
An emotional Ms. Sturgeon apologized to those who suffered and lost others during the pandemic.
Jamie Dawson KC asked: “The Covid story in Scotland is the story of Nicola Sturgeon’s arrogance, right?
However, Sturgeon denied this suggestion and wept as she testified.
She replied, “No. No think that’s the case. I’m lucky I didn’t personally lose to Covid. “
“I wish with every fibre of my being that the decisions my government had been able to take could have reduced the number of people in Scotland who did lose someone to Covid and I am deeply sorry to each and every bereaved person, and each and every person who suffered in other ways.”
Jamie Dawson KC asked the former FM: “I was looking to have the reputation, wasn’t I, of being the user who kicked Covid out of Scotland?”
Ms Sturgeon responded: “I never imagined I was capable of driving Covid out of Scotland. I had hoped that the decisions my government would make would keep Covid as low as possible imaginable so that it would cause fewer deaths, minimise disruption to people’s and children’s livelihoods. education.
“I am satisfied that there is an authentic and serious examination of the content of the decisions that have been made.
“My motivations were to try to do whatever it took to minimize the overall damage caused by the virus.
“The death toll in Scotland, as in other parts of the UK, is too high, so I didn’t manage to do it as effectively as I would have liked. “
Ms Sturgeon was asked about an email sent in July 2020 which suggested the Spanish Government would decide whether a decision to retain quarantine measures for those arriving from the country could be seen as a political one.
The document, addressed to Deputy First Minister John Swinney, warned: “There is a real possibility they will never approve EU membership for an independent Scotland as a result.”
But Ms Sturgeon said: “These are decisions that were made for reasons of public fitness. They were difficult decisions, very balanced, and if this fear had been at the root of the decisions, then probably as a result of strong criticism, that is, from our own airport sector at the time, first of all, we would not have kept Spain out of the travel corridors.
An emotional Ms Sturgeon said: “I take it very personally when people question the very motives, because I know that the motives were absolutely in good faith and for the best reasons.”
Baroness Heather Hallett said it “seemed as if other people were playing quickly and freely with language” after Sturgeon explained what experts had told her about the difference between eliminated and eliminated.
Jamie Dawson KC asked: “Was there zero Covid in the Scottish government in the summer of 2020?
Ms Sturgeon responded: “I think there was a strategy of maximum suppression, the phraseology that was used, and it was there, if not in our first policy framework, at least in later iterations, was to remove it at the lowest point imaginable. “And stay there.
“There is no doubt that colloquially we would have used terms such as 0 Covid and elimination, but not eradication, which is a very different concept, to briefly describe this strategy. “
Sturgeon was forced to admit that the Scottish Government’s politicisation of the Covid pandemic to promote Scottish independence would amount to a “considerable betrayal of the Scottish people”, if the inquiry concluded that that was what had happened.
She said: “I don’t think you can draw that conclusion because that’s not what I did.
“If at some point I had to politicize a global pandemic that was robbing other people of their lives, their livelihoods, and their educational opportunities and, in the face of that, I had to prioritize the crusade for independence, then yes, absolutely, it would have been as you described, and that’s exactly why I didn’t and I wouldn’t have done it. “
Sturgeon denied claiming to have “taken the step” by banning mass gatherings in March 2020.
Michael Gove, then a British minister, had previously had “uneasiness” in Whitehall.
She said: “I think by this point none of us were jumping the gun and we were arguably going more slowly than we should have.
“The public was ahead of the government in terms of what we’ve done. “
Asked about her resolve to impose a ban on mass gatherings, the former foreign secretary said her duty is “to the Scottish people, not Boris Johnson. “
The announcement came after a Cobra meeting.
He added that it is “indispensable. “
Ms Sturgeon says the Scottish cabinet worked in February and March 2020 when asked about the urgency of the outbreak.
She says she and her colleagues took it seriously.
Pamela Thomas of the Scottish band Covid Bereaved has her brother James Cameron.
She said: “The deletion of the WhatsApp messages took too long for the investigation.
“I don’t think they are capable of telling the truth of being transparent like they are portraying they are.
“Your crocodile tears do not wash me away.
“If there’s equipment for my lawyer or for an investigation into criminal activity, I’d like them all to use it. “
Sturgeon is protecting her attempt to keep Catherine Calderwood in government even though Fife broke the rules.
He said he was a “key part” of the Covid reaction and “aware of how damaging it would be” to lose a CMO.
On advice given to Ms Sturgeon by people such as Jason Leitch, Mr Dawson asked: “Did you have a concern over this period that the people from whom you were getting advice were not sufficiently expert to deal with the threat?”
Ms Sturgeon replied: “No, I didn’t. The recommendation that all those people gave me, not just at the beginning, but in the case of two of them during the course of the pandemic, I had a maximum degree of confidence, and I think accepting it as true and with confidence was justified. “
The inquiry is back from a short break and Nicola Sturgeon will continue to be quizzed by Jamie Dawson KC.
Solicitor Aamer Anwar said: “Those who have lost their loved ones have been led that Mrs Sturgeon will do everything she can to bring the fact to light, but Nicola Sturgeon is accused of betraying the many promises she made. “
©News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. 679215 Registered Office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. “The Sun”, “Sun”, “Sun Online” are registered trade marks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. This service is provided under News Group Newspapers’ Limited’s popular terms and situations in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. To inquire about a license to reproduce material, please visit our distribution site. Check out our online press kit. For other requests, please contact us. To view all of The Sun’s content, please use the site map. Sun’s website is regulated through the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO).
Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/