Scottish government to hold public inquiry into pandemic handling by end of year
The Scottish government says it will hold an independent public inquiry into how it has handled the COVID pandemic by the end of the year, following pressure from bereaved families.
The government has said the inquiry will be established by the end of this year to “scrutinise decisions taken in the course of this pandemic, and learn lessons for future pandemics”.
People in Scotland have until the end of September to email the government about what they think the aims and principles of the inquiry should be.
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Nicola Sturgeon said the inquiry will be ‘people-centred’
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s government had promised to take the “necessary steps” to establish a public inquiry within its first 100 days in office after calls for one by the families of those who died with COVID-19.
Discussions are under way to identify and appoint a judge to chair the inquiry.
As Scotland experienced its largest-ever daily number of COVID cases, Ms Sturgeon said the inquiry “will take a person-centred, human rights approach”.
She said the inquiry will look into “all matters”, including how the situation in care homes was handled.
The first minister said she will be talking to the UK, Welsh and Northern Irish governments about the likely terms of a UK-wide inquiry.
“It will be important to avoid duplication and overlap but co-operation with other governments is no reason to delay an inquiry,” she added.
“This inquiry has an important role to play in scrutinising decisions we took, and continue to take, and to identify lessons for the future.”
Scotland’s COVID situation has got worse this week
Aamer Anwar, a lawyer representing members of the Scottish branch of the COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said: “The families are grateful that the Scottish government has listened to their demands and an independent Scottish public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the deaths and the subsequent handling of the COVID pandemic will now take place.
“Today is the first important step in establishing accountability for 10,421 lives lost to COVID-19 in Scotland.
“Boris Johnson should take note that his government can no longer be allowed to hold the process back from asking difficult questions.
“There were 154,811 COVID-19 deaths in the UK, every single death represents failure and public inquiries cannot be delayed any longer by a UK government, whether it be in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.”
Scotland has been under different COVID rules than England as health is devolved
He added that the Scottish inquiry must be “truly independent and leave no stone unturned” and the families of those who have died “must be at the heart of the inquiry process to get to the truth of what happened”.
The public can email COVID-19publicinquirysetupteam@gov.scot with their ideas and comments about what the basis of the inquiry should be.
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Politics
25% of young children and pregnant women malnourished in Gaza, charity says, as PM vows to fly critical medical cases to UK
A charity has warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, with Sir Keir Starmer vowing to evacuate children who need “critical medical assistance” to the UK.
MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels – with patients and healthcare workers both fighting to survive.
It claimed that, at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks – and described the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.
Pic: Reuters
The charity also criticised the high number of fatalities seen at aid distribution sites, with one British surgeon accusing IDF soldiers of shooting civilians “almost like a game of target practice”.
MSF’s deputy medical coordinator in Gaza, Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, said: “Those who go to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s food distributions know that they have the same chance of receiving a sack of flour as they do of leaving with a bullet in their head.”
The UN also estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food – the majority near the militarised distribution sites of the US-backed aid distribution scheme run by the GHF.
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‘Many more deaths unless Israelis allow food in’
In a statement on Friday, the IDF had said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians”, and reports of incidents at aid distribution sites were “under examination”.
The GHF has also previously disputed that these deaths were connected with its organisation’s operations, with director Johnnie Moore telling Sky News: “We just want to feed Gazans. That’s the only thing that we want to do.”
Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and has accused the UN of failing to distribute it, in what the foreign ministry has labelled as “a deliberate ploy” to defame the country.
‘Humanitarian catastrophe must end’
In a video message posted on X late last night, Sir Keir Starmer condemned the scenes in Gaza as “appalling” and “unrelenting” – and said “the images of starvation and desperation are utterly horrifying”.
The prime minister added: “The denial of aid to children and babies is completely unjustifiable, just as the continued captivity of hostages is completely unjustifiable.
“Hundreds of civilians have been killed while seeking aid – children, killed, whilst collecting water. It is a humanitarian catastrophe, and it must end.”
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Israeli military show aid waiting inside Gaza
Sir Keir confirmed that the British government is now “accelerating efforts” to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance, so they can be brought to the UK for specialist treatment.
Israel has now said that foreign countries will be able to airdrop aid into Gaza. While the PM says the UK will now “do everything we can” to get supplies in via this route, he said this decision has come “far too late”.
Read more:
WHO: Gaza faces ‘manmade’ starvation
UN: People in Gaza ‘walking corpses’
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Last year, the RAF dropped aid into Gaza, but humanitarian organisations warned it wasn’t enough and was potentially dangerous. In March 2024, five people were killed when an aid parachute failed and supplies fell on them.
For now, Sir Keir has rejected calls to follow French President Emmanuel Macron and recognise a Palestinian state – despite more than 220 MPs signing a cross-party letter to demand he takes this step.
The prime minister is instead demanding a ceasefire and “lasting peace” – and says he will only consider an independent state as part of a negotiated peace deal.
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