Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish Covid laws may be unlawful, inquiry hears

Covid-19 measures put in place by Nicola Sturgeon may be unlawful, an inquiry has been told.

Children and Young People's Commissioner, Bruce Adamson, believes the new rules, which allow the Government to introduce lockdowns and close down schools at any time, could be open to a court challenge.

The commissioner added during a Holyrood inquiry that any such powers were only lawful if they were "time-limited" and expressed "considerable concerns" that the new bill would make them permanent.

The emergency powers introduced in 2020, represented some of the most serious interferences with human rights imposed by the Government since the Universal Declaration on Human Rights was brought in more than 70 years ago, Mr Adamson said.

He also warned that "even if not used, they may therefore not be lawful under the terms of Article 15" of the European Convention on Human Rights, while adding that the new powers could cause "substantial interference into children’s right to an education, as well as a wide range of their human rights".

Meanwhile, Megan Farr, a policy officer for the commissioner said that parents’ rights could also be breached by part of the Bill which allows ministers to tell children to attend a "specified educational establishment".

She said: "Parents have a duty to educate their children but they also have a right to choose how that happens so there's a risk there that could be open to challenge."

A Tory MSP and the committee's convener was then asked whether the Bill could be open to a legal case to which she replied: "I think there is the possibility that it could be either now or at a future date."

In response, a Government spokesman said: “Ministers thank the Children and Young People's Commissioner for his submission.

"His comments, and those from other stakeholders, will help inform the government’s thinking as the Bill progresses through Parliament."