Live politics: Matt Hancock Covid evidence, Alex Salmond on independence and FMQs
First Minister Humza Yousaf is set to take questions from opposition parties from noon onwards - join us to keep updated with the cut and thrust of the debates.
Live blog: Hancock inquiry, Salmond presser & FMQs
'Damning verdict' on Scottish Government transparency
Elsewhere, a Holyrood committee has criticised the Scottish Government for a lack of financial planning on a controversial recycling bill.
The finance and public administration committee has published a highly critical report, casting doubt on whether the financial estimates for the government’s Circular Economy Bill were based on accurate costings.
The Scottish Conservatives say this report is a “damning verdict” of the SNP-Green government’s financial transparency.
Questions over 'Pandemic Diaries'
Matt Hancock was told there is no entry in his published diaries to support his claim that he told then prime minister Boris Johnson a lockdown was needed on March 13 2020.
“It’s not in your diary, so-called, I should say, Mr Hancock. The entry for the 13th of March makes no reference to you telling the prime minister this vital piece of information that he should lock down immediately,” lead counsel to the inquiry Hugo Keith KC said.
Reading from the former health secretary’s book, Pandemic Diaries, the lawyer said: “There is a whole page on how you woke up for the dawn flight to Belfast … there was from the prime ministerial meeting, prime ministerial papers, a video call and according to your book you said: ‘I called the prime minister and told him we’d have to do some very rapid back-pedalling on the issue of herd immunity, then rang Patrick who promised to do his best to repair the damage.'”
Mr Keith added: “Telling the prime minister of this country for the first time that he had to call an immediate lockdown is surely worthy of some recollection, is it not?”
Mr Hancock replied: “I didn’t have full access to my papers for the writing of that, and this came to light in researching the papers ahead of this inquiry.”
Hancock erroneously thought UK had up-to-date pandemic plans
Matt Hancock was under the impression the UK had up-to-date plans in place for the pandemic in early 2020, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has head.
The probe was shown a WhatsApp exchange between Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings from January of that year, who asked then health secretary Mr Hancock “to what extent have you investigated preparations for something terrible like Ebola or flu pandemic?”.
Mr Hancock replied “we have full plans to roll up to and including pandemic levels regularly prepped and refreshed”.
Inquiry counsel Hugo Keith said the message “may give the impression that whatever plans they were, however deficient or effective they were, they had been recently – because the word refreshed – prepped and brought up to date”.
However, in his witness statement Mr Hancock said the only plan in place was a strategy from 2011, described by Mr Keith as “a single document, based doctrinally on a completely inappropriate approach”.
Cummings weighs in...
Former aide Dominic Cummings has weighed in on Hancock's evidence, saying he did not in fact push for a lockdown.
FMQs starting now...
First Minister's Questions is starting in the Scottish Parliament now.
First up is Scottish Conservative Party leader Douglas Ross, who asks whether Scottish Government ministers should always tell the truth.
Deputy First Minister Shona Robison, who is filling in for Humza Yousaf while he attends COP28 in Dubai, say they should, but people make mistakes - like when Ross himself failed to declare income from his football refereeing career to the Scottish Parliament.
Ross says health secretary Michael Matheson tried to claim taxpayer money, and "changed his story" and "made up excuses".
Read more on the Michael Matheson expenses scandal:
Row over Matheson continues...
Scottish Conservative Party leader Douglas Ross believes Michael Matheson should resign over expenses scandal.
Deputy FM Shona Robison accuses the Tories of ignoring the cost of living crisis and wider UK political issues - particularly the actions of the Westminster Conservatives.
Shona RobisonIt’s very telling that for weeks now, Douglas Ross has had nothing to say on the Tory autumn statement... nothing to say on the cost of living crisis, nothing to say on Grangemouth, nothing to say on the climate emergency… these aren’t Tory priorities.
Meanwhile, Tory MSP Pam Gosal weighs in:
Labour's turn
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar goes in on NHS Scotlan dwaiting lists - says "people are dying and waiting lists are going up", "staff are burned out" and "we have a health secretary fighting to keep his job".
Sarwar reveals 24,000 people have died on an NHS waiting list in the last year. Asks Robison to admit staff and patients "can't afford yet another winter with a failing SNP health secretary and a failing SNP government".
Robison: "These challenges are affecting every healthcare system in these islands, there's nothing exceptional about the Scottish healthcare service or the challenges facing it."
"We are investing, and we'll continue to invest," adds Robison.
DFM Shona RobisonWe have seen a significant reduction in the longest waits & improvements in diagnostic waiting times.. We are committed to further reductions through our £1billion investment in the NHS recovery plan to increase capacity.
Says Wes Streeting, the UK Labour Party's shadow health secretary, has "opened the door for the private sector to come into the NHS".
World Aids Day
Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Greene with an important intervention ahead of World Aids Day tomorrow - says the 'H' in HIV stands for 'human', and that the Scottish Parliament must endeavour to challenge a problem "far more dangerous than the virus itself - stigma".
Shona Robison agrees, and says the campaign to tackle stigma is "so important" and adds the parliament must "play its role" in breaking down misconceptions and prejudice about the condition.
Hancock fires back at Cummings
Back to the UK Covid Inquiry - Matt Hancock has fired back at former aide Dominic Cummings, who accused the former health secretary of "flat out lying" in a tweet earlier today.
Cummings also criticised Hancock during the former's appearance at the UK Covid Inquiry a few weeks ago.
Hancock referred to Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser Cummings as a “malign actor” who caused a toxic culture at No 10.
It comes after Mr Hancock rejected claims from previous witnesses at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry that he was a liar.
Inquiry counsel Hugo Keith pointed out that Mr Cummings had not only accused Mr Hancock of lying, but also expressed that he was unfit for the job of health secretary.
Hancock said he would be “very happy to write with an explanation of each and every one” of the allegations.
“The impact of the toxic culture, that essentially was caused by the chief adviser, but that clearly I can now see – not that I knew at the time – others were were brought into, that was unhelpful," he said.
Hancock added that “the lesson for the future is systems need to be in place so that if there is a malign actor in No 10” or “people whose behaviour is unprofessional” the “the system needs to be able to work despite that”.
Post-FMQs briefings
Tories and Labour have both sent out statements following today's FMQs.
Douglas Ross called for Michael Matheson to resign, while Anas Sarwar said Scotland "can't afford another winter with a failing SNP health secretary".
Douglas RossThe public can see Michael Matheson is not focused on the day job.
In the middle of an NHS crisis, the public needs to trust the health secretary. They don’t.
When he meets nurses and doctors, they need to know he’s honest. He’s not.
The disgraced health secretary has lost the confidence of the country.
He needs to go for the good of the NHS.
This week the Deputy First Minister said the public sector workforce would need to shrink. Shouldn’t it start with sacking Michael Matheson?
Anas SarwarTwo years ago, Humza Yousaf launched an NHS Recovery Plan that has failed.
But rather than having a government that is focussing on these problems, we have a First Minister and a Health Secretary going from crisis to crisis.
After sixteen years of SNP Government, it keeps getting worse, not better.
Shona Robison was the Health Secretary who promised to end delayed discharge, but numbers are still on the rise.
Humza Yousaf was the Health Secretary who promised to bring down waiting lists, but in the two years since his failed recovery plan they’ve gone up 28%.
That’s 182,000 more people on waiting lists.
And Michael Matheson was appointed to fix the mess, but today we reveal that over 24,000 people have died on an NHS waiting list in the past year.
NHS patients and staff can’t afford yet another winter with a failing SNP Health Secretary and a failing SNP Government.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.