DEPUTY first minister John Swinney has urged to BBC to continue broadcasting the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefings.
Last night it emerged the corporation would stop airing Nicola Sturgeon’s daily updates, saying it will choose which conferences to show based on “editorial merit”.
The decision has provoked anger with nearly 7000 people signing a petition demanding the decision be reversed, and politicians, health experts and members of the public speaking out.
READ MORE: Thousands urge BBC to reverse decision to stop airing Nicola Sturgeon's briefings
Asked about the decision to stop broadcasting the briefings on Good Morning Scotland, Swinney said they are a “crucial part of the communication” around the pandemic.
He told listeners: “I think it's a matter of regret. I've seen a lot of commentary from people who are talking about it, for example older people who maybe don't have access to internet technology, who actually look to the briefing to give them clarity about what is happening in relation to coronavirus.
“I think it's been a really important channel of public communication for the Scottish Government and the First Minister, to be able to speak directly to members of the public about the very difficult issues with which we are wrestling now.
“It's an important channel because we need to ensure public compliance to the measures that were taken so we need to get these messages out.
“It's been a crucial part of the communication, and I would like to see it continued to be broadcast on BBC Scotland channels because of the importance of getting that message directly to members of the public.”
He stressed how “important” the information is, telling the programme: “We saw a good example of it yesterday. We were promoting through all of our media output the Test and Protect app. And in the course of a day over half a million people in Scotland have downloaded that app to use as part of the contact tracing.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We will continue to provide extensive coverage of the government press conferences across our news services, including live streaming online.
“We will of course consider showing press conferences live when any major developments or updates are anticipated.”
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