Covid creates united nation Salmond set to offer ‘devastating’ evidence at the Hamilton inquiry

SCOTLAND has become a more ‘united nation’ over Covid-19, according to a report.

The Our Chance to Reconnect study by Talk/together, the largest survey of public attitude in the pandemic, found neighbourly kindness and the relief effort bonded communities.

It also showed people have a strong sense of national identity, which has become more inclusive of minority groups.

Four times as many people said Covid made their community more united than those who thought it more divided.

Report co-author Jill Rutter said: ‘Despite everything we’ve been through, there is a sense that communities have stayed strong and pulled together .’

ALEX Salmond is to give evidence to an inquiry investigating whether Nicola Sturgeon breached the ministerial code this week as the First Minister fights to save her job.

The former SNP leader is to speak to James Hamilton, QC, today or tomorrow.

Mr Hamilton is leading the probe into whether Miss Sturgeon breached strict rules for ministers, an inquiry which could lead to her resignation.

It is understood Mr Salmond expects to speak about issues he has not yet addressed publicly, but that will be ‘damning and devastating’ for his predecessor.

He is expected to talk about evidence he submitted to Mr Hamilton claiming Miss Sturgeon did breach the ministerial code, including allegations she ‘misled’ parliament over meetings the pair held in 2018.

It comes as Miss Sturgeon prepares to face MSPs at the Holyrood inquiry this week, where she is expected to be quizzed on issues such as when she was first aware that allegations of harassment had been made against Mr Salmond.

EXIT from lockdown should be accelerated if Covid cases continue to fall sharply, the head of a leading economic think-tank said yesterday.

Downing Street says the ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown will see some restrictions continue until at least June 21, regardless of the success of the vaccine programme.

But the director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies Paul Johnson said it would be hard to justify the massive economic and social impacts of lockdown if the situation improved more rapidly than expected.

He told Sky News: ‘If things move more quickly and positively than expected – if we have a very high fraction of people vaccinated and a very low levels of infection – then it should be sped up.’

Mr Johnson’s comments will fuel demands from Conservative MPs for the lockdown to be lifted more quickly.

But Chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday insisted that the roadmap dates were the ‘earliest’ that restrictions would be lifted.

He said the ‘cautious’ approach was designed to reassure business and the public that the lifting of the measures would be ‘irreversible’.