FM warns Aberdeen lockdown decisions not a political debate

The first minister has cautioned against “political debate” over lockdown decision-making, following claims from Aberdeen City Council leaders that they had to “lobby” the Scottish Government to relax measures.

Government officials met council bosses on Sunday morning to thrash out an agreement on the city’s best route out of lockdown with consensus eventually being reached later that day to lift bans on indoor gatherings and travel from midnight.

However, in response to claims from city council leaders that it was their “lobbying” that means the city’s “fragile economy” would be freed of the restrictions imposed, Nicola Sturgeon said this was “entirely the wrong perspective”.

Speaking during her daily Covid-19 briefing yesterday, she said: “Anybody who thinks that these decisions should be the result of lobbying is coming at this from entirely the wrong perspective.

“This is an infectious virus and we have to be precautionary in order to keep the virus under control when the other clusters get out of control.

“This is not some kind of political debate backwards and forwards about who wants to be tough and who wants to be precautionary.”

Under the changes announced on Sunday, bars, cafés and restaurants will be allowed to open tomorrow, subject to checks by environmental health officers.

However, council bosses claimed chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith initially favoured a “more cautious” approach.

Council co-leader Douglas Lumsden said he would “agree” politics should be left out of lockdown decisions.

“Anybody who thinks these decisions should be the result of lobbying is coming from... wrong perspective. NICOLA STURGEON