NICOLA Sturgeon has said Jackson Carlaw is using “grubby political opportunism” in his attacks on the Scottish Government's decision to reopen schools in August.

At FMQs on Wednesday, the First Minister had given a speech on indicative dates for further changes to the coronavirus lockdown, which included plans to reopen hairdressers, pubs and restaurants in July.

Her announcement came a day after the Scottish Government said it was now aiming for pupils to go back to school full-time in August, provided the number of Covid-19 infections remains low.

There had been a row last week after it emerged some children may only receive one or two days a week in classrooms under blended learning proposals.

Referencing the row, Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw called on the Government to be clear in its message to reopening businesses.

He said: “We need crystal clear advice from government. We can’t have a repeat of the situation last week when pubs made preparations to open up outdoors only to be told it was all off.”

But Nicola Sturgeon rejected his claims, saying: "At every stage we are putting the safety of the country at the heart of everything we do. Jackson Carlaw mentioned schools and I think in some ways the debate on schools sums up, if I may say so, the real problem at the heart of the approach Jackson Carlaw is taking.

"When it looked like full-time education would not be safe for children, we developed a contingency, but now that our progress against the virus makes it possible, we are planning for full-time education but we have a plan for contingency should we need that because there are no certaincies with the virus.

"Now, it turns out that's exactly the thing Jackson Carlaw asked us to do. Five days after we published the global blended learning plan, the Conservatives published a paper in Scotland called 'Coronavirus and Scotland's Schools.' That was published on the 26th of May. It didn't demand the return of full-time education, far from it, it called upon us, and I quote, to commit to flexibility on what happens in August, it asked us to report monthly from August 11th on the continued need for blended learning," she went on.

"And then it said only, and I'm quoting again, if evidence emerges it would be safe to move faster to a full reopening should we do so. So what the Tories are criticising us for now is, it turns out, exactly what they called on us to do, and I think that sums up Jackson Carlaw's approach.

She added: "It's not leadership, it's not putting the safety of kids and country first. It is, quite frankly, Presiding Officer, grubby political opportunism and no serious person should be indulging in that at a time of national crisis."