UK Covid Inquiry: Who is Jamie Dawson KC, the lead counsel who is questioning Nicola Sturgeon, John Swinney and Humza Yousaf?

Jamie Dawson KC, lead counsel to the UK Covid Inquiry, will take centre stage on Wednesday as he extensively quizzes Nicola Sturgeon

He is the man at the heart of the UK Covid Inquiry hearings in Edinburgh – the questioner-in-chief who is going toe to toe with Nicola Sturgeon, Humza Yousaf and John Swinney.

But who exactly is Jamie Dawson KC – and why was he chosen as the lead counsel for the UK Covid Inquiry sessions in Scotland?

Born in Morningside, Edinburgh, in 1977, Mr Dawson is credited as studying at Oxford and Edinburgh universities before qualifying as a barrister in 2004. He would then go on to be appointed as a King's Counsel (KC) in 2020.

Jamie Dawson KC, counsel to the UK Covid Inquiry

The lawyer has distinct family connections rooted in Scotland’s legal system.

His father, who would go on to become Lord Dawson, filled the role of lead counsel to the inquiry into the explosion on the Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea.

Lord Dawson was Solicitor General for Scotland from 1992 until his appointment in 1995 as a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland – a post he held until his death in 2007.

His son has steadily built his legal experience by appearing in both the Inner and Outer House of the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary and sheriff courts.

According to Ampersand Advocates, Mr Dawson has built a reputation for his work in medical and dental negligence cases, as both a pursuer and defender.

Mr Dawson was the lead counsel selected to act on behalf of Scottish victims connected to the Infected Blood Inquiry. At the time, it was the UK’s largest ever public inquiry, with findings due to be reported this year.

Mr Dawson was one of 11 QCs appointed to the overall UK Covid-19 Inquiry legal team. The team is charged with supporting Hugo Keith QC, lead counsel to the inquiry, and Martin Smith, solicitor to the inquiry, with the preparation and delivery of the body’s investigative work.

Renowned as a popular figure in Edinburgh legal circles, Mr Dawson has already made his mark across two-and-a-half weeks of Scottish hearings with his distinctive relaxed, yet forensic approach to questioning punctuated by strategic pauses.

He was able to elicit a verbal U-turn from Mr Yousaf in one of the most notable exchanges to date. Under questioning last week, the First Minister admitted he did delete WhatsApp messages he sent during the course of the pandemic, despite previously denying reports he had done so.

Mr Dawson asked: “You were under the impression that the messages had been deleted previously, in accordance with an existing government policy, but in fact it transpired they had not been deleted and were in fact recoverable relatively easily?” Mr Yousaf replied: “Yes.”