Scottish islands could be the test-bed for lifting the coronavirus lockdown by introducing contact testing and tracing, Michael Gove has suggested.
The senior Cabinet minister who deals with the Whitehall response to Covid-19 said there was “specific scientific justification” to show that islands could be areas where measures to lift lockdown could be piloted.
Speaking by video link to the Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee Gove told MPs regional variation is something being looked at.
He said: "My own personal view is that we do it as one United Kingdom.
"But there is a specific scientific justification for saying island communities can be areas where you could pilot some measures, contact tracing in particular, in order to combine that with relaxing measures at a progressively greater rate and that can help you judge what is right for the country overall.”
Bacteriology expert Professor Hugh Pennington has already told MSPs at Holyrood that Orkney and Shetland “could really do something different” in terms of moving away from lockdown.
The academic suggested that the next stages of coronavirus containment could be developed earlier in the islands but only if a comprehensive testing strategy was in place.
The idea of a different approach has been cautiously welcomed by island politicians including Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael and SNP MP Angus MacNeil.
But at a daily briefing on Wednesday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon refused to comment on the idea, saying it is too early to speculate on easing restrictions.
Sturgeon said: “I am going to resist getting drawn into speculation about what we might or might not do in terms of approaches we will take then, because we are not there yet and let me stress that."
David Mundell MP, the former Scottish Secretary, asked Gove where the UK Government stood on the issue of regional or national lifting of the lockdown.
Gove said that the Scottish Government’s framework strategy broadly reflected the policy the UK Government has been following.
Mundell also asked about the different approach to face masks and coverings after Sturgeon advised people to consider wearing scarves or masks in confined public spaces.
Mundell said: “I’m slightly confused at the moment because here in Scotland I’m being recommended to cover my face if I’m in certain shops and on public transport, yet if I travel to London I don’t have to do that, so where does the balance lie between having one message and the ability to devolve?”
Gove replied that he respected devolution but it was better to have a UK-wide policy.
He said: “The point that you make about masks is one example where if there’s a consistent message across all parts of the UK it makes it easier for people to understand, appreciate and comply.”
