John Swinney has been reported to the statistics authority after he was accused of misrepresenting the impact of covid restrictions in Scotland.
The Deputy First Minister, who is also the Covid Recovery Minister, suggested covid rates in Scotland were lower than in England because of extra measures introduced north of the border.
Speaking on the BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland show, he suggested Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showing one in 40 Scots were infected compared to one in 25 in England were "the strongest evidence that the measures taken in Scotland are protecting the population from covid".
But the figures cited by Swinney were from before the Scottish Government imposed additional restrictions.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie has reported Swinney to the UK Statistics Authority, writing she was "deeply concerned" to hear the statistics allegedly being misrepresented.
In the letter to the watchdog's chairman Sir David Norgrove, Baillie wrote: "I am deeply concerned to hear John Swinney MSP, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery, wrongly use statistics from before the festive period to suggest that restrictions across Scotland, introduced by the Scottish Government, resulted in only 1 in 40 Scots contracting Covid-19, as compared to 1 in 25 in England.
"The Deputy First Minister cited a Covid-19 Infection Survey, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 31 December 2021, in making this erroneous claim.
"The data corresponded to the week ending 23 December 2021 when restrictions were not in place and the rules in Scotland and England were largely the same. In reality, the latest infection survey from ONS, to the week ending 31 December 2021, shows that 1 in 20 Scots have contracted Covid-19. These statistics contrast sharply with the narrative presented by Mr Swinney on BBC Radio Scotland – Good Morning Scotland on Tuesday morning."
Speaking about her decision to report Swinney, Baillie added: "Public trust in the actions of the Scottish Government is of paramount importance, but it risks being eroded due to selective and erroneous use of statistics by senior figures such as Mr Swinney.
"The Scottish Government has a duty to present the people of Scotland with the facts as they are, not as the Government would wish them to be.
"Scottish Labour will continue to hold this Government to account to ensure that the people of Scotland get all the facts that they deserve."
In the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, Nicola Sturgeon defended her deputy, arguing he had used the most up-to-date data available at the time.
She added: "I cited in my statement today data that as I understand it that has been published while I've been speaking, that is a week more up to date - there will always be a lag in it - that I think will still show that one in 20, though very, very high, is still lower certainly than in England.
"But these things are not a competition. We just all have to take the decisions and judgments that we think are best to try to navigate the safest possible course through that."
In its more recent infection survey, for the week ending Friday December 31, the ONS estimated around one in 20 people in Scotland had the virus, compared to around one in 15 in England, one in 20 in Wales, and one in 25 in Northern Ireland.
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
