Nicola Sturgeon admits she is ‘not infallible’ after confusion over cafe Covid rules

Scotland’s first minister has admitted she is “not infallible” after new coronavirus rules around cafes prompted days of confusion.

Nicola Sturgeon said that the Scottish government was trying its best and the she had “tried very hard” not to criticise her UK counterpart Boris Johnson for the same reason.

The Scottish government has said restaurants must close, but that cafes can remain open – prompting confusion about the definition. 

The first minister on Sunday morning  admitted the framing had not been “perfect”.

“I’ve tried very hard not to criticise Boris Johnson because all leaders are making really horrendously difficult decisions,” she told Sky News.

“What I was trying to explain on Friday is it’s very easy to give 100 per cent clarity by saying everywhere must close, everybody must stay at home. That is the situation we had under strict lockdown.

“As you try to strike a more nuanced balance it does become more difficult and there is more potential for a lack of clarity that we try to work through and give as much as we possibly can.”

Ms Sturgeon added added: “I’m trying every day. Sometimes I’ll do better than others and I’m not perfect at this, nobody is. But every single day I’ve chosen not to stop doing daily press briefings.

“I’m trying not to just say to people what it is we have to do to keep the virus under control but share with them the decision-making process and the difficult balances we’re trying to strike.

“Where there is a bit of difficulty striking a balance like we had on Friday over cafes, trying to make people understand what that is and what the alternative could be. I’m not infallible in this: it’s a difficult situation and we’re trying to do it as best we can.

“Trying to strike those balance between controlling the virus because lives depend on that but recognising the big economic impact of how we’re having to do that and trying to preserve economic activity and as much normal life as we possibly can.”

On Wednesday the Scottish government had said that all cafes in the central belt with an alcohol licence would have to close – but it has since adjusted the criteria.

Under the clarified rules, cafes that do have a licence will be able to remain open if they do not serve alcohol.

The episode represents a rare political problem for the SNP administration during the coronavirus crisis. Polls have previously suggest the Scottish public has broadly approved of their government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis so far, in contrast to the UK government, which has been rated poorly.