Sturgeon counselled for trauma of covid inquiry

NICOLA Sturgeon has told how she went for counselling for the first time after breaking down in tears while giving evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry - with the former first minister saying she was “really worried” at the time that she might not be able to stop crying.

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She said crying at the inquiry in January 2024 was “such a raw moment”.

As Scotland’s longest serving first minister, she was in charge of the country when the pandemic hit.

She gave hundreds of televised daily media briefings, updating the country on the fight against the virus. But she also came in for criticism for some decisions, such as transferring elderly hospital patients into care homes early in the outbreak without Covid tests.

She became tearful when she gave evidence to the inquiry as she told how “of the many regrets” she has, “chief of those is that we didn’t lock down a week, two weeks earlier than we did”.