Scotland had the third highest level of excess deaths in Europe between the end of February to the middle of June, official analysis shows.
The Office for National Statistics showed England had the longest period where deaths were above average during the coronavirus pandemic, and so overall had the highest levels of excess deaths in Europe.
By the week ending May 29, the cumulative mortality rate in England was 7.55 per cent higher than the average mortality rate in 2015 to 2019.
Spain ranked second at 6.65 per cent, followed by Scotland at 5.11 per cent, Belgium with 3.89 per cent and Wales on 2.78 per cent higher deaths than average.
Labour's Ian Murray MP said the ONS data comparing 23 countries was "a stark reminder of the catastrophic failures of the Tory Government in Westminster and the SNP Government in Edinburgh".
The ONS analysis shows the epidemic in the UK was more widely spread than in other countries whereas the virus was concentrated in specific areas in Spain and Italy which has the highest peaks in mortality rates.
Amongst the top twenty areas with a higher level of deaths were four areas of the UK, of which three are in London and one in Essex, South East England.
Looking at each of the four nations of the UK separately shows that England had the highest peak mortality rates of the four nations of 107.6 per cent above the average during the week ending 17 April.
This was followed by Scotland with a peak of 71.7 per cent during the week ending 10 April, and Wales with a peak of 68.7 per cent the following week.
Northern Ireland experienced the lowest peak mortality of the four nations of 48.2 per cent during the week ending 24 April.
In comparison the highest recorded aged adjusted mortality rate was 847.7 per cent in the Northern Italian city of Bergamo in week ending 20 March as the virus began to take off in Europe.
Ian Murray MP, Labour’s Shadow Scottish Secretary, said the confirmation that England and Scotland recorded some of the highest levels of excess deaths in Europe was devastating.
Murray said: “Every life lost is a tragedy and leaves behind grieving families.
“Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon must now take responsibility for why we were so badly prepared."
He added: “The First Minister should also apologise for making false claims about prevalence rate comparisons and stop seeing everything through her constitutional prism.
“As we start to see a resurgence of coronavirus in other parts of the world, it’s vital that lessons are learned from the mistakes made by both governments so that lives are saved in the months ahead.”
