Nicola Sturgeon: Scottish Covid inquiry to begin this year but new lockdown not ruled out

Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to hold an independent inquiry into Scotland's handling of Covid this year - but warned that restrictions could yet be reimposed.

The inquiry, to begin by the end of the year, will "scrutinise decisions taken in the course of this pandemic, and learn lessons for future pandemics", including the “situation in care homes”, the Scottish government said.

The First Minister had previously expressed preference for a UK-wide inquiry. The Covid Bereaved Families for Justice group said Boris Johnson’s spring 2022 inquiry was “far too late”.

It came as Ms Sturgeon warned that a "sharp rise" in cases, especially among young people, made this "yet another fragile and potentially very pivotal moment" in the battle against Covid-19.

"If the surge continues and if it accelerates and if we start to see evidence of a substantial increase in serious illness as a result, we cannot completely rule out having to reimpose some restrictions," she told reporters.

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