Nicola Sturgeon admits errors in handling of pandemic

Nicola Sturgeon told the Covid inquiry she made errors in her handling of the pandemic, admitting there were times she wished she hadn't been Scotland's first minister.

"I was the first minister when the pandemic struck. There's a large part of me wishes that I hadn't been", she said as she fought back tears. After the session ended, Pamela Thomas, who lost her brother James Cameron during the Covid pandemic, said: "Crocodile tears aren't washing with me."

Aamer Anwar, the lawyer representing the Scottish Covid Bereaved group, said that Sturgeon's "carefully crafted image" of sincerity "has been left shattered by her own hands", said the Daily Record.

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"Those of a less cynical perspective might choose to take" Sturgeon's "tearful testimony at face value", said The Telegraph's Tom Harris, but others "might draw a different conclusion". 

Whether her delivery was believable or not, Sturgeon admitted to a "number of errors" in her handling of the crisis, The Guardian said. She regretted not telling people about Scotland's first outbreak in March 2020, which "had the potential to undermine public confidence".

However, she "rejected claims" she presided over a "culture of secrecy", said the BBC, despite admitting she deleted all her WhatsApp messages during the pandemic. She also denied that she had pushed for fights with Boris Johnson's government to boost her Scottish independence cause.

The most profound impact of Sturgeon's "fall from grace" will be on her party, said The Independent's Sean O'Grady. Her "wavering, emotional appearance" at the Covid inquiry doesn't detract from the fact that, since her resignation in March 2023 as first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party, the SNP and its principal cause – Scottish independence – "remains in the political doldrums".