Nicola Sturgeon must justify different Scots lockdown approach says Jackson Carlaw

Nicola Sturgeon is facing calls to set out a "timetable" for Scotland to follow the lockdown exit measures being adopted else where in the UK.

Jackson Carlaw has written to Nicola Sturgeon

Scots Tory leader Jackson Carlaw has also called on the SNP leader to publish the evidence to justify the different approach in Scotland.

The reason why the rate of infection - known as the `R' number - is believed to be worse in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK, must also be explained.

In a letter to the First Minister, Mr Carlaw sets out a series of demands which he says will allow Scots to "better understand" her position.

“Like everyone else, we want to see a strategy that saves lives, protects the NHS and moves towards coming out of lockdown when it’s safe to do so," Mr Carlaw said.

“There are emerging differences between the approach of the UK Government and the Scottish Government, and that will have an impact on the lives of Scots, and the wellbeing of the economy."

Mr Carlaw is now calling on Ms Sturgeon to publish what the Scottish Government believes the ‘R’ number to be in Scotland, and how it thinks that compares with the UK equivalent, on a daily basis

This is the number of others which each infected person passes the virus onto. If the figures is below one, it means that COVID-19 levels should decline, if it goes above one it will start to increase again. Ms Sturgeon has hinted that it is likely to be somewhere between 0.7 and one in Scotland, as hospital cases and deaths continue to fall.

The Tory leader also wants to know why `R’ has "stalled" in Scotland given estimates have not budged in recent weeks.

The extent to which this stalling is driven by the crisis in care homes, must also be explained the Tory leader added. He also wants to know why the SNP believes the ‘R’ number is higher in Scotland, despite going into lockdown at roughly the same time as the rest of the UK

And if Scotland is to take a slower approach than other parts of the UK, the the Tory leader also said scientific evidence for this approach must be made public and updated regularly.

"The SNP government now needs to set out exactly why this approach is different, and what evidence it is based upon," Mr Carlaw added.

“We can’t simply have weeks go by where Nicola Sturgeon asserts a position without the detailed reasons for it being revealed.”

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