Holyrood must launch its own detailed inquiry into Scottish Government Covid-19 failings, Dumbarton's MSP has demanded.

Jackie Baillie says many of the damning errors revealed in the UK Parliament’s joint committee report into the pandemic were repeated in Scotland. And Labour is demanding decisions taken by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her ministers are subject to the same scrutiny.

Ms Baillie said: "Nicola Sturgeon ignored the same warnings as UK ministers and with the same tragic outcome. 

"At crucial points in the pandemic, the UK and Scottish Governments were in lockstep – acting too slowly in response to the danger and failing to warn the public of the risk. 

"But while England will benefit from the findings of this robust and detailed report, Scotland has been denied early findings of its own. 

"Nicola Sturgeon’s own MPs helped deliver this analysis at Westminster while in Scotland they dither and delay on making sure her decisions are put under the microscope. 

“Scotland deserves better."

Ian Murray, Labour’s shadow Scottish secretary and MP for Edinburgh South, added: "This is a devastating report on the catastrophic failings of the UK Government, which cost thousands of lives.

"Lessons must be learned both in England and here in Scotland, where the SNP made identical fatal errors.

"In fact, Nicola Sturgeon chose to overrule her own health advisers to cover-up an outbreak in Edinburgh - which is simply unforgivable - and her government failed to act on warnings in readiness exercises, and even allowed older patients who had tested positive for Covid into care homes.

"Westminster’s committee system is robust in holding the UK Government to account, and there now needs to be a similar forensic approach taken in Scotland, including a rapid public inquiry.

"The people of Scotland deserve an apology from the First Minister for the cover-ups and the catastrophic errors made."

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: "While this report is primarily concerned with the actions of the UK Government, we will consider its findings carefully as we continue to respond to the impact of the pandemic in Scotland.

"Since the early stages of our pandemic response, we have been committed to a public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic in Scotland, to ensure that lessons are learned for the future.

"Public feedback has been gathered which will inform the terms of reference to be agreed between Ministers and the chair, once they have been appointed, ahead of the inquiry’s establishment later this year."