RUTH Davidson has been urged to explain why she attacked the integrity of a well respected public health official.
The former Scottish Tory leader accused Devi Sridhar of compromising her position on the return of Scottish schools because she had been leaned on by SNP ministers.
On Tuesday night the professor and chair of Global Public Health at Edinburgh University tweeted that Scotland’s classrooms could “re-open as normally as possible” in August if positive cases of the virus can be kept under 20 a day.
She also stressed that testing would have to be ramped up to trace cases in the community.
Responding to a journalist who suggested this wasn’t quite in line with Scottish Government thinking – given that John Swinney had suggested over the weekend that the “blended” model of education could last the entire academic year – Sridhar responded: “@NicolaSturgeon & I are completely aligned & I support her cautious approach to easing lockdown & re-opening schools.
“She has kids (& teachers, parents) best interest in mind so better to go slowly, track virus closely & make decisions in a reasoned & data-driven way.”
Sharing the academic’s tweet, the ex-Scottish Tory chief said: “Guess someone got the hairdryer treatment over the phone....”
The First Minister responded: “Untrue ... but more importantly, utterly disgraceful to suggest that a highly respected expert (who I suspect has more integrity in her wee finger than *some* have overall) would be susceptible to that.”
Davidson then hit back, pointing to two other academics SNP ministers have allegedly pressured.
The Tory MSP said: “How absolutely *disgraceful* to suggest the SNP would put pressure on an expert or words in their mouth ... Louise Richardson or Matt Qvortrup anyone?”
Responding directly to Davidson, Sridhar tweeted: “Your tweet reflects how little you know me & my views. Not about politics. It’s about finding the best way forward for kids, parents and teachers.
“I’m an expert in global public health looking at [international] best practice & trying to bring those learnings to help Scotland & the UK.”
READ MORE: Why Ruth Davidson was wrong to drag virus expert into political playground
When asked at a briefing for journalists if anyone from the Government had contacted Professor Sridhar after the initial Tuesday night tweets, the First Minister’s official spokesperson simply said: “No.”
The spokesperson told the journalists: “I dare say if Mr Swinney or the First Minister or any of our ministers had tweeted in those terms about a respected health official then you‘d have beaten my door down asking on what basis the allegation was being made.
“Maybe you should ask Ruth Davidson on what basis she made that assertion because it’s utterly, utterly baseless.”
A Tory party source suggested Davidson was “on the wind up”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel