Nicola Sturgeon and Jeane Freeman urged to come clean on care homes 'atrocity' at UK Covid Inquiry

Nicola Sturgeon and Jeane Freeman have been urged to come clean about “one of the worst atrocities of the pandemic”.

The former first minister and ex-health secretary will appear at the UK Covid Inquiry in Edinburgh this week.

The Scottish Covid Bereaved have challenged the pair to give answers about patients with covid who were sent to care homes.

In March and April 2020, thousands of vulnerable people were put in danger after more than 100 untested and covid-positive patients were discharged into care homes.

This followed Scottish Government guidance which aimed to ease pressure on the NHS.

Freeman will appear at the inquiry on Monday and Sturgeon will answer questions on Wednesday.

The Scottish Covid Bereaved have demanded that the politicians explain their decision on care homes.

Helen Lee Keenan, whose father Thomas Lee died of covid in a care home in May 2020, said that “someone needs to be held accountable”.

She said: “I’m expecting the truth. I want to know why protocols in place for people in care homes were used so quickly.

“I want to know why the decisions were made at the time and who made the decisions.

“Someone needs to be held accountable – Jeane Freeman was involved at the time and needs to explain to the families.

“Everyone’s looking for answers. My father was killed in a care home. They pumped him full of drugs and let him die.”

Thomas Lee

Sturgeon’s appearance at the inquiry comes after it emerged that she deleted all of her WhatsApps from during the pandemic.

Aamer Anwar, the lead lawyer representing the Scottish Covid Bereaved, asked what the former first minister was trying to hide.

He said: “Boris Johnson’s claim that he saved thousands of lives was a grotesque distortion of the truth.

“But Ms Freeman and Ms Sturgeon would do well to remember this week that it was also in Scotland that our front-line workers risked their lives without adequate PPE, it was also in Scotland that our care homes were turned into killing grounds for the elderly, treated as ‘expendable’, ‘bed blockers’ or ‘toxic waste’.

“The Scottish Covid Bereaved genuinely believed that our politicians would do better, yet instead over the last few days and months, the bereaved have been lied to and and attacked for trying to hold our Government to account.

“This week it is Ms Sturgeon’s turn to answer to the dead, her conduct to date begs the question: What was she trying to hide?”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar urged Freeman and Sturgeon “to give families the answers they deserve”.

He said: “At the heart of this inquiry are the people who lost their lives and lost their loved ones – and so far they have been badly let down by the SNP circus playing out.

“One of the worst atrocities of the pandemic was the SNP government’s decision to allow untested and Covid-positive patients to be discharged into care homes.

“Thousands of vulnerable people were put at risk and lives have been lost – we need to know the truth about how and why this catastrophic decision was made.

“Jeane Freeman and Nicola Sturgeon were responsible for this decision and this week they will have the opportunity to give families the answers they deserve.

“Every single person who made sacrifices and suffered losses during the pandemic deserve answers from this inquiry – the SNP must end the culture of secrecy and cover-up and come clean.”

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