Former chief medic excused from Covid inquiry

Scotland's former chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, has been excused from giving evidence to the UK Covid Inquiry on health grounds.

The medic, who resigned during the pandemic after breaking lockdown rules, was given a year's grace in December 2023 after she was deemed to be unfit to provide evidence.

Inquiry chairwoman Baroness Hallett, who said she had received regular updates, has now issued a ruling excusing Dr Calderwood indefinitely.

She said the decision would be open to review if the situation changed.

Baroness Hallet said she had "carefully considered the importance of Dr Calderwood's evidence to the issues being investigated" in the next stages of the inquiry.

She said all core participants were offered the chance to provide any further observations by 5 December.

The chairwoman added: "Having reviewed the medical evidence provided to me and having received no observations from core participants, I am satisfied that Dr Calderwood should be excused from further participation in the inquiry."

Dr Calderwood resigned as chief medical officer in April 2020 - two weeks after the UK-wide lockdown was imposed on 23 March.

She had been given a police warning for breaking the rules by making two trips to her second home in Earlsferry in Fife with her family, more than an hour's drive from her main home in Edinburgh.

The former chief medical officer had fronted TV and radio adverts urging the public to stay at home to save lives and protect the NHS.

In January 2021, Dr Calderwood was appointed national clinical director of the Centre for Sustainable Delivery at the Golden Jubilee hospital in Clydebank. She held that role until last year.

Dr Calderwood was appointed as professor of practice at the University of Strathclyde in September 2023, and joined the board of Women in Sport, a charity that aims to tackle inequality, in May this year.

She has co-authored research papers in her university role, the most recent of which was published in August.

Dr Calderwood gave evidence to the early stages of the inquiry in July 2023, telling it that Scotland's communication with scientific experts in London during the pandemic was hampered by poor technology.