Coronavirus: Nicola Sturgeon to investigate ‘unacceptable’ claims PPE being withheld by England

‘Any situation where supplies were being diverted from one part of the UK to another without consultation ... would clearly be unconscionable and unacceptable,’ says First Minister

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has promised to investigate reports – strongly denied by Downing Street – that supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) are being diverted from the Scottish health system to England.

Dr Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, said on Monday that the largest PPE manufacturers were not delivering to Scotland because the NHS and social care providers in England were their priority amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Times has also reported that Gompels, a manufacturer in Wiltshire, has said that it will not supply Scotland or Wales under a contract that it holds with Public Health England.

Downing Street later dismissed the claims, insisting that it has adopted a “four-nation approach” for providing frontline workers with the necessary PPE.

Jason Leitch, Scotland’s national clinical director, also described the reports as “rubbish” and said that the four countries of the UK were “pretty aligned” in their response to coronavirus.

But First Minister Sturgeon has nonetheless vowed to take action, saying it would be “unconscionable and unacceptable” to divert PPE away from Scotland.

She said if care homes supplies are affected it would increase pressure on the national stockpile, which would be “a source of real worry”.

Ms Sturgeon said: “I hope nobody thinks this is in any way a point of a political nature.

“It is a point about fairness and co-operation as all of us deal with the challenge of this virus.

“All parts of the UK right now are facing supply challenges on PPE, indeed this is a global issue.

“Any situation where supplies were being diverted from one part of the UK to another without consultation or any sense of co-operation would clearly be unconscionable and unacceptable.”

Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman said she is urgently seeking clarity on the situation and had intended to speak with her UK counterpart Matt Hancock on Tuesday – only for him to cancel the phone call.

She said she has written to him to “remind him that he specifically does not have my agreement to the centralisation of ordering or distribution of PPE”.

A spokesman for prime minister Boris Johnson has said that suppliers of PPE were not being ordered to prioritise demand in England over the other nations of the UK.

“Our PPE strategy is UK-wide, making sure that frontline workers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have the PPE they need to stay protected while taking care of patients,” the spokesman said.

“Through this four-nation approach we are working closely with the devolved administrations to coordinate the distribution of PPE evenly across the UK.

“We have not instructed any company to prioritise PPE for one nation over the others.”

On Easter Monday, 22 million items of PPE – including more than 2.5 million aprons – were delivered to 268 organisations, according to Downing Street.

The British government’s denial comes as Ms Sturgeon announced on Tuesday that 40 more people had died from coronavirus in Scotland, bringing the country’s total to 615.

More than 6,350 people have now tested positive for Covid-19, the First Minister added, up by 291 from 6,067 the day before.

There are 196 people in intensive care with coronavirus, a decrease of 15 on Monday, and 1,798 people are in hospital with the disease.

Additional reporting by PA