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Police to take no action against Nicola Sturgeon after face mask blunder

Nicola Sturgeon apologised at Holyrood on Wednesday - ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP
Nicola Sturgeon apologised at Holyrood on Wednesday - ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP

Police will not take any action against Nicola Sturgeon after she broke her own coronavirus laws by not wearing a face mask at a funeral wake.

The First Minister on Wednesday made a grovelling apology at Holyrood over the blunder, which saw her photographed speaking to three elderly women while leaning on a chair in an Edinburgh pub with her face uncovered.

Under her own laws, people walking around hospitality venues must keep their faces covered with those violating the rule liable for a £60 fine.

However, Police Scotland said it would not be taking action against the SNP leader.

A spokeswoman for the national force said: “We’re aware of a photograph of the First Minister...  in which she was not wearing a face mask at a wake. The First Minister has acknowledged this inadvertent breach, for which she has apologised.

"We remind everyone of the requirement to wear face coverings in indoor public places for public health reasons. Police Scotland will not be taking any further action in relation to this matter."

At Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said she was kicking herself “very hard” over the breach and vowed that she would not break the rules again.

She told MSPs she wanted to express "how sorry I am for my breach of rules that I ask all of us to follow".

Ms Sturgeon said: "I want to be clear that regardless of the circumstances, I was in the wrong. There are no excuses.

"These rules do apply to me, just as they do to everyone else, and the rules really matter.

"I am kicking myself very hard - possibly harder than my worst critic ever could - but more importantly I'll be making sure I don't drop my guard again."

She reminded the public to follow the rules - which includes wearing face coverings - as usual but admitted she was doing so with “a enormous dose of humility”.

The Scottish Tories have accused Ms Sturgeon of undermining vital public health messages with the mishap, which she made last week at a funeral wake for a civil servant who died of coronavirus. However, opposition politicians did not choose to attack the First Minister over the issue at First Minister's Questions.

When the photograph was published on Tuesday night by The Scottish Sun, the Ms Sturgeon said she had taken the mask off briefly, adding that it was "a stupid mistake and I'm really sorry".

It was taken at the Stable Bar and Restaurant after she attended the funeral at the nearby Mortonhall Crematorium.

Under coronavirus regulations introduced on September 14 in Scotland, face coverings for customers and staff are mandatory when entering, exiting and moving around hospitality venues. However, police have said they see issuing fines as a last resort.

Jason Leitch, the Scottish Government’s national clinical director, said he had spoken to Ms Sturgeon on Tuesday night and that she was “furious with herself”.

He added: "She is absolutely mad at this little lapse in concentration - it's so easily done. We live in a completely different world from a year ago.

"She was leaving a funeral of a colleague of ours - a wonderful, wonderful individual who did a huge amount of work during the pandemic. It was an awfully sad day for many of us in the government who knew him and his family well.”

He claimed the error happened because Ms Sturgeon was "just about out the door and was called back".

He added: "Her mask was off because she was leaving, and then [she went] back in and [had] a little lapse - didn't put it back on.

"It just reinforces again to all of us the nature of these instructions and this virus, and she is as mad with herself as everybody else."