NICOLA STURGEON must come clean on Covid care home “atrocities,” Scottish Labour has insisted.

The former SNP first minister and her then health secretary Jeane Freeman will each give evidence at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry in the coming week after a fortnight that has shone a spotlight on the Scottish handling of the crisis.

Controversy over Ms Sturgeon’s deletion of WhatsApp messages continues to rumble on.

But exchanges recovered from other devices, which have included discussion of promoting the case for independence during the pandemic and starting a “good rammy” with the UK government, have not only caused SNP embarrassment but sparked fury from bereaved families.

Now, as Ms Sturgeon and Ms Freeman prepare to take the stand, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has challenged them to explain the decision to release thousands of untested hospital patients — and more than 100 who had already tested positive for Covid-19 — into care homes during the pandemic.

Mr Sarwar said families had been “badly let down by the SNP circus playing out.” 

He added: “One of the worst atrocities of the pandemic was the SNP government’s decision to allow untested and Covid-positive patients to be discharged into care homes.

“Thousands of vulnerable people were put at risk and lives have been lost. We need to know the truth about how and why this catastrophic decision was made.

“Jeane Freeman and Nicola Sturgeon were responsible for this decision, and this week they will have the opportunity to give families the answers they deserve.

“Every single person who made sacrifices and suffered losses during the pandemic deserves answers from this inquiry: the SNP must end the culture of secrecy and cover-up and come clean.”