Appearing on Scottish television screens almost daily during the pandemic, Professor Jason Leitch was a calm, reassuring presence during strange times. But after an unedifying evidence session at the UK Covid Inquiry and revelations that Leitch deleted his Covid WhatsApps, the reputation of the national clinical director is in tatters. Now, he has announced his departure from his Scottish government role and will leave at the end of April.

The former dental surgeon was widely regarded as affable and straightforward. His skills as a communicator were huge valuable at a time of great uncertainty. He regularly stood alongside former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during her lunchtime broadcasts to the nation, offering the scientific rationale for the decisions made by politicians. But Leitch will not depart the political scene as the hero he could have been. In common with just about everyone who has appeared in front of the UK Covid Inquiry, his reputation has taken a hammering.

Leitch will not depart the political scene as the hero he could have been.

At an inquiry hearing in Edinburgh in January, an incriminating WhatsApp exchange was made public. It appeared to show Leitch advising current First Minister Humza Yousaf on how to get around Covid regulations. In November 2021, before attending a dinner at which he was to give a speech, Yousaf messaged Leitch: ‘I know sitting at the table, I don’t need my mask. If I’m standing talking to folk, need my mask on?’ Leitch replied: ‘Officially yes. But literally no-one does. Have a drink in your hands at ALL times. Then you’re exempt. So if someone comes over and you stand, lift your drink.’

It certainly suggests that, for all his bonhomie in public, Leitch was every bit as cynical as any politician. He sent a separate message to a group chat in which he described deleting WhatsApp messages as a ‘pre-bed ritual’.

QOSHE - The undoing of Professor Jason Leitch - Euan Mccolm
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The undoing of Professor Jason Leitch

18 17
13.03.2024

Appearing on Scottish television screens almost daily during the pandemic, Professor Jason Leitch was a calm, reassuring presence during strange times. But after an unedifying evidence session at the UK Covid Inquiry and revelations that Leitch deleted his Covid WhatsApps, the reputation of the national clinical director is in tatters. Now, he has announced his departure from his Scottish government role and will leave at the end of April.

The former dental surgeon was........

© The Spectator


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