First Minister John Swinney and Labour leader Anas Sarwar went to war over handling of Covid pandemic.
by Bill Heaney
He told the Scottish Parliament: “Later today, the Covid inquiry report on political decision making will be published. Covid-19 shook all our lives, with thousands of lives lost in Scotland.
“The UK Covid inquiry is vital so that we can learn lessons, acknowledge mistakes and give answers to mourning families. Given that John Swinney was central to the Scottish Government’s operations before, during and after the pandemic, does he regret deliberately deleting evidence for the inquiry, which frustrated its process? Will he take the opportunity to apologise?”
John Swinney replied: “Covid-19 was incredibly difficult for everyone. I express my heartfelt sympathies to everyone who lost a loved one during the pandemic and to those who suffered a tremendous level of disruption to their lives.
“At all times, ministers’ actions were based on the best information that was available to them at the time. I have set out to the Covid-19 inquiry the basis of the decision making with which I was involved.
“The Scottish Government took those decisions incredibly seriously to ensure that we took the necessary action to protect the population at a time when we had no guidebook on what we were dealing with.
“We supported establishing a public inquiry so that all Governments can learn the necessary lessons for the future. That is exactly what the Scottish Government will do.
“All the actions that I took regarding information were consistent with Scottish Government policy.”
Mr Sarwar added: “John Swinney was the Deputy First Minister who deliberately deleted evidence, which is shameful and unforgivable. He was the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills who shamefully downgraded the exam results of working-class kids, and he was the Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery who failed to deliver any recovery.
“The most devastating decision that was made by ministers was to send untested and Covid-positive patients into care homes [such as Crosslet Home in Dumbarton], even when it was known that older people were the most vulnerable to the virus.
“More than 100 Covid-positive patients and more than 3,000 untested patients were sent into care homes. The devastating consequence was that more than 4,000 people in care homes died of Covid. That is now being investigated by the police. We do not need clinical advice to know that sending people with the virus to live with those who are the most vulnerable to it would lead to deaths. Will John Swinney apologise for that disastrous and catastrophic decision?”
But Mr Swinney said that at the time, ministers were dealing with an evolving situation during which advice was being formulated by scientific experts.
He added: “Clinical experts were assessing the right judgments to be made in dealing with an emerging and fast-changing situation. Ministers were open with the Parliament about the dilemmas and challenges that were involved. Those decisions were subjected to scrutiny by the Parliament and, of course, they are now being subjected to scrutiny by the Covid-19 inquiry.
“I have been very clear that I regret the suffering that individuals experienced during the Covid pandemic. It did enormous damage to people, including those who lost loved ones, and to our society, and we are still dealing with the consequences of it.
Consultants carry out life-saving treatment on covid patient.
“I understand the scale of the impact and the damage that was done. As I have indicated, the Government will listen carefully to the inquiry and respond accordingly to the recommendations that it makes as we seek to learn lessons from a traumatic period in the country’s history.”
“In one month at the start of this parliamentary session, 16,798 Scots waited for four hours in accident and emergency; now 45,639 are waiting. At the start of this session, 1,810 waited in A and E for eight hours; now 15,821 are waiting. At the start of this session, 96,053 people were waiting for in-patient treatment; now 155,849 are waiting. At the start of this session, 391,938 were waiting for an out-patient appointment; now 559,077 are waiting. John Swinney promised recovery and he delivered catastrophe. He has a shameful record, and it is one that he cannot delete. Is it not clear that we cannot afford another five years of this and that Scotland needs to recover from John Swinney and the Scottish National Party?”
But the First Minister challenged him: “One of the many flaws in the argument that Mr Sarwar has just put to me is that he is comparing this moment today with the start of this parliamentary session. At the start of this session, the country was still dealing with Covid. We were still in the midst of Covid. We still had a pause—for at least a year beyond the start of this session—on routine scheduled cases because of the priority to sustain the national health service during that period. The idea that Mr Sarwar is comparing like with like ignores—as he always does—the reality of the Covid pandemic and its significant disruption.
“I can reassure Mr Sarwar that, under my leadership, the scale of national health service activity is increasing in order to tackle those very issues. We had more than 10,000 extra out-patient attendances in September compared with August. Activity in our national health service has increased: from April to September 2025, there were over 31,000 more appointments and procedures than in the same period in 2024. We are now seeing the total list size and the longest waits coming down. We are also treating more people, with activity increasing significantly compared with last month and last year.”
He added: “The actions that Mr Sarwar is calling for—of increased NHS activity, increased numbers of procedures and increased solutions for the people of Scotland—are happening, and they are happening under my leadership. They will carry on happening under my leadership, because I am determined to support our population to recover from Covid.”