Sturgeon’s ‘gold command’ meetings ‘reduced transparency’, Covid inquiry finds

So-called “gold command” meetings held by Nicola Sturgeon and a small group of ministers and advisers “reduced transparency” during the pandemic, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has found.

Then first minister Ms Sturgeon met separately during the pandemic with a smaller group outside Cabinet meetings, with the inquiry saying decisions were made which were later ratified by the rest of the ministerial cohort.

Minutes of such meetings were not taken, and the report found that meant it was “difficult to understand the nature and extent of the discussions in these meetings”.

The inquiry report said: “The use of the informal gold command meeting structure diminished the role of the Scottish Cabinet and reduced the transparency of the Scottish Government’s decision-making during the pandemic.