Police to take 'no further action' against Nicola Sturgeon after apparent face mask law breach
Police will not take further action against Nicola Sturgeon after footage showed her apparently breaching Scotland’s Covid face mask law while campaigning.
Scotland's first minister was reported to Police Scotland after a video on social media showed her without a face mask on the council election campaign trail, days before the country's Covid laws were dropped.
Police Scotland said officers have spoken to Ms Sturgeon and reminded her of the “importance of wearing a face covering when there is a legal requirement to do so”.
However, the force said it is "satisfied that no further action is necessary" against Ms Sturgeon.
The first minister has since apologised for the “error”, and said she immediately put her face covering on within seconds of realising.
A video posted on social media appeared to show the first minister not wearing a mask during a visit to a barber’s in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on Saturday.
At the time, it was still a legal requirement to wear a face covering in most indoor public places in Scotland, including shops, public transport and hairdressers.
The legal requirement to wear a face mask in indoor settings in Scotland moved into guidance on Monday, however, the Scottish government has strongly recommended that people continue to wear them where appropriate.
In the video, Ms Sturgeon appears to be seen without a face covering as she mingles with customers and pats the head of a man in a barber’s chair while mimicking the sound of an electric razor.
The first minister is wearing a tartan face mask in the video of her visit to Iconic Gents Hair posted on her official Twitter account, in which she can be seen shaving a man’s beard.
Apologising over the incident, Ms Sturgeon said: “On Saturday, while campaigning out outdoors in East Kilbride I was invited into a local barber shop. After a few seconds of being in the shop, I realised I had forgotten to put my face covering back on. I then immediately put it on.
“However, I accept that not wearing a face covering even for a few seconds was an error on my part and I am sorry for that.
“Having received complaints about the matter, Police Scotland made contact with me.
“This is what they would have done with anyone else in these circumstances, and they were absolutely right to treat me no differently to any other citizen.
“I explained that the error was inadvertent and the police have confirmed that the matter is closed.
“While the law no longer requires face coverings to be worn, I will continue to do so in circumstances where this can help reduce the risk of infection, and I encourage everyone to do likewise.”
An SNP spokesman earlier said: “The First Minister was invited into the barbers during an outdoor visit on the street.
“Within a few seconds, she realised she hadn’t put her mask back on and immediately put it on.”
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Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP had said: “The video clearly shows Nicola Sturgeon isn’t practicing what she preaches on facemasks.
“She’s happy virtue signalling for official photos but behind closed doors it’s clear she doesn’t believe in her own rules so why should anyone else.
“This is blatant hypocrisy from the First Minister who has now shown her true colours.
“The public, who have been under these legal Covid restrictions for over two years, deserve an apology for this rule break.”
In December 2020, Ms Sturgeon apologised after she breached Covid rules by taking off her face mask at a funeral wake. She described it as “a stupid mistake”, and said: “I’m really sorry.”
The Scottish government said the incident on Saturday was an issue for the party.
As well as the changes on legal requirements around face coverings, Monday also saw the end of guidance for people without symptoms to take regular lateral flow tests in Scotland.
Free lateral flow devices (LFDs) for twice weekly routine testing are no longer available for the general population.