Katy Balls Katy Balls

Nicola Sturgeon to face no confidence vote

Since the pandemic began, Nicola Sturgeon has been a regular sight at the daily Covid press conferences in Scotland. Where Boris Johnson’s appearances at the Westminster version are infrequent at best, Sturgeon rarely misses a day. But today the First Minister was nowhere to be seen. Following reports overnight that a majority of MSPs on the Alex Salmond Committee will say she did mislead parliament, it was Sturgeon’s Health Secretary Jeane Freeman who went out to bat. 

Asked whether Sturgeon should resign, Freeman replied that ‘this is a Covid briefing’ before adding that she believed her colleague did not mislead parliament and that she should not resign. Sturgeon has also come out fighting – suggesting last night that any finding was politically motivated as the opposition members ‘made their minds up’ before she gave evidence. 

However, there are two reasons this line could become harder to hold in the coming days and weeks. With

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