Jackson Carlaw squirms on Sky when asked about Scots virus fight

He appeared on the channel as Nicola Sturgeon prepared to make an announcement further easing restrictions for areas like the hospitality sector, tourism firms and couples living apart.

Carlaw complained that the Scottish Government was taking too long to move from phase two to phase three.

Asked why Scotland had been more successful than England in tackling Covid-19 recently, the MSP claimed that was a “subjective point”.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon announces phase three Covid-19 guidelines

But host Adam Boulton quickly interjected to point it was objective, as there is precise data on the rate of cases and deaths. The Scottish Government estimates the level of Covid-19 is five times higher in England than in Scotland.

Carlaw replied: “We obviously went into the whole virus cycle several weeks later and therefore the lockdown came much earlier in the development of the virus in Scotland than it did for example in London where of course the virus initially started.”

Then despite having just urged the Scottish Government to accelerate lockdown easing moments earlier, Carlaw said there is a “heck of a lot of work to do” to ensure the public’s safety.

He went on: “But in terms of the actions we’ve taken, unfortunately we’ve had a much higher percentage of deaths in care homes and we still have one of the lowest testing performance records of any country in Europe.

“So in many respects there’s still a heck of a lot of work to do if we’re going to ensure that as the country starts to re-open we are effectively able to … test and protect to ensure that we are able to deal with any outbreaks that subsequently occur.”

Boulton then suggested Carlaw’s arguments had been contradictory – which the MSP denied.

Utterly bizarre interview with @Jackson_Carlaw on Sky. Asked “Why do you think Scotland has been more successful..that England” in dealing with Covid? Squirms awkwardly, then denies, then concedes the point, then says it’s cos virus hit Scotland later!! Tories all over the place.

— Keith Brown MSP (@KeithBrownSNP) July 9, 2020

He said it was simply a “challenge” he was putting before the Scottish Government.

SNP depute leader Keith Brown reacted to the broadcast – calling it “utterly bizarre”.

Explaining the line of questioning put to Carlaw, Brown described the MSP’s performance: “Squirms awkwardly, then denies, then concedes the point, then says it’s cos virus hit Scotland later!! Tories all over the place.”