A report has suggested today that half of coronavirus deaths could have been prevented had we locked down earlier. The Scottish Government are now suggesting they were prevented from locking down earlier. This is rewriting of history to avoid accountability. A thread... 1/
Throughout the outbreak the SNP government have taken near identical decisions to the Tories. For starters, remember that terrible press conference when Johnson went on about how he was still shaking hands? Here’s Scotland’s health minister on the same day. 2/
Similarly the Tories have been criticised for allowing large events, such as the Cheltenham Festival on 13th March, to go ahead. A day earlier, here is the Scottish Government press conference on large events. 3/
On the idea that the Scottish Government wanted an earlier lockdown but couldn’t do it: it’s bullshit. Here’s the press conference on 9th March arguing why public events and schools should stay open. 4/
A day later the advice was literally “hug your granny” 5/
At the press conference a couple of days later, they were explicitly arguing against an early lockdown. 6/
On 13th March asked why not go into early lockdown, the answer was clear “because it doesn’t work if we do it now” 7/
On the 16th, all day long, the Scottish Government message was against an early lockdown. For example, asked about Ireland’s more cautious approach to visiting the elderly, this was the response. /8
That day began with the slap down of @piersmorgan which we all enjoyed at the time but which now views differently now we know the cost of not locking down earlier. 9/
Same day, in response to questions about why other countries had closed bars, restaurants, gyms, etc were told there was “no reason at this point to avoid social gathering”. 10/
Same day on lockdown “it doesn’t work” 11/
And on the 18th March, I don’t think this could be any clearer. 12/
Again: of these decisions were for good reasons, even they were a terrible mistake. This isn’t about the officials who are dedicated public servants. It’s about Minister seeking to avoid accountability for their own decisions by blaming someone else. 13/
With a another surge in infections in months ahead a distinct possibility we need our ministers to be accountable, learn lessons and do better than pretending that a bigger boy did it and ran away. 14/14
