Lady Poole quit the role earlier this month for personal reasons and now the Scottish government has announced Lord Brailsford will take over from Friday. The inquiry has also seen the resignation of four members of its legal team.
The Scottish Covid-19 inquiry will look at the Scottish government’s actions throughout the pandemic, from introducing lockdown to the delivery of testing and vaccines. It will also focus on infection control in care homes, including the transfer of patients from hospitals.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said that while the appointment of a new chair was a step forward, “there is still a lack of a clear commitment from the deputy first minister over just how long this inquiry will go on for”.
He added: “We’ve seen costs spiral out of control and intolerable delays on other crucial inquiries, including the Edinburgh tram inquiry, and that simply cannot happen here. Grieving families must get the truth about what went wrong and get the answers they deserve.”
His comments were echoed by Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman, who said no further delays should occur.
Not, apparently, an inquiry without “difficulties”.