John Swinney to step in for Nicola Sturgeon at First Minister's Questions as she is floored by Covid

Nicola Sturgeon will miss First Minister’s Questions having been “floored” by Covid-19.

Deputy first minister John Swinney will step in at FMQs in Holyrood where he is expected to face criticism over the handling of lifeline ferry contracts and chaos caused by ScotRail’s emergency timetable.

Sturgeon tested positive for the virus last week and on Thursday morning said it had “managed to really floor” her.

Today @johnswinney will stand in for me at #FMQs. I’m starting to feel a bit better, but still not very well – Covid managed to really floor me unfortunately.
I’ll hopefully be back fully fit after taking rest of week at home to recover. Thanks again for all the good wishes.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) May 26, 2022

In a tweet ahead of FMQs taking place at 12pm, Sturgeon confirmed that her deputy would be appearing in her place.

“Today @johnswinney will stand in for me at #FMQs. I’m starting to feel a bit better, but still not very well – Covid managed to really floor me unfortunately,” she wrote.

“I’ll hopefully be back fully fit after taking rest of week at home to recover. Thanks again for all the good wishes.”