Nicola Sturgeon’s Cupboard plotted to make use of Covid to spice up the drive for Scottish independence.
The SNP authorities stated in March 2020 it had ”paused” preparations for a second referendum to give attention to tackling the pandemic.
However minutes from a Scottish Cupboard assembly on June 30 2020 launched to the UK Covid Inquiry present ministers agreed that ”consideration be given to restarting work on independence and a referendum”.
They stated the case for breaking apart the UK must be up to date with the ”arguments reflecting the expertise of the coronavirus disaster and developments on EU exit”.
The Scottish Tories have tabled a query at Holyrood and demanded Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf clarify the scenario.
The get together’s shadow structure secretary Donald Cameron stated: “This astonishing and shameful revelation from the UK Covid inquiry explains why Nicola Sturgeon and lots of of her senior colleagues had been so eager to delete their WhatsApp messages.
“If a dialogue on pushing their independence obsession was talked about across the cupboard desk, we will solely think about the extent of the SNP’s crass constitutional opportunism on personal messaging.
“The Scottish individuals are entitled to know why a authorities that assured us public security was its sole focus was gaming its push for an additional independence referendum whereas the dying toll mounted.
“Humza Yousaf was a senior determine across the cupboard desk on the time. Did he voice any objections to this disgracefully skewed precedence? If not, why not?
“I’ve this morning submitted a Topical Query on this. If it’s chosen, I might urge the First Minister, within the pursuits of his personal credibility and integrity, to reply on behalf of his authorities.
“The Scottish individuals deserve an evidence for the scandalous determination to give attention to SNP political goals throughout a public well being emergency.”
The Scottish Cupboard minutes had been printed final Friday because the inquiry took proof from Ken Thomson, who was then supervisor of the Scottish Authorities’s Covid Coordination Directorate.
Jamie Dawson KC, lead counsel for the inquiry’s module on Scotland, grilled him about claims the SNP authorities’s Covid response had been politicised to additional the independence trigger.
Mr Thomson rejected the declare and added: “The second manner I hear that criticism is that one way or the other in her choices the First Minister was looking for…to be totally different for the sake of being totally different to remind people who Scotland has the flexibility to take choices by itself. And I additionally don’t agree with that.”
Mr Dawson then learn out the Cupboard minutes about utilizing the pandemic to spice up independence.
Mr Thomson admitted “that runs barely opposite to what I stated in my earlier reply”.
He added: “As we moved out of the lockdown restrictions, extra of the unusual enterprise of the Scottish Authorities began to renew, together with this bit.”