Nicola Sturgeon daily briefing: Where can I watch daily coronavirus update after BBC Scotland changes

BBC Scotland announced that they would no longer be airing the First Ministers coronavirus updates.

What has BBC Scotland decided?

BBC Scotland has announced that they will no longer be providing live coverage of the First Minister’s coronavirus daily briefings.

Nicola Sturgeon holds press briefings where she gives updates on coronavirus at 12.15 pm every day from St Andrew’s house in Edinburgh.

The BBC have said that from Monday, they will be basing their decision on whether the briefing should be aired on ‘editorial merit’.

The briefings are currently shown on BBC One Scotland and some of the coverage is aired on BBC Radio Scotland’s Lunchtime Live Programme.

The broadcaster stressed it will take a "consistent approach to coverage of the various government briefings across the UK nations".

A BBC Scotland spokesman said: "We will continue to provide extensive coverage of the government press conferences across our news services, including live streaming online.

"We will of course consider showing press conferences live when any major developments or updates are anticipated."

What has the reaction been?

John Swinney, Deputy First Minister appeared on Good Morning Scotland on Friday morning describing the decision as: “a matter of regret.”

He added: “There's a lot of commentary from people who are talking about, for example, older people who maybe don't have access to internet technology, who actually look to the briefing to give them clarity about what is happening in relation to coronavirus.

"It's an important channel because we need to ensure public compliance with the measures that were taken, so we need to get these messages out.”

The decision was backed by Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross, who claimed that the First Minister’s daily briefings were becoming party political.

He also claimed that they were often used to criticise the UK Government.

Where can I watch the briefings now?

The BBC has said that it will keep streaming the briefings live on its news websites.

Also, the briefings are streamed on the Scottish Government’s Twitter feed at @scotgov.

First Ministers Questions, which occur once a week at 12.20 pm on a Thursday, can be watched on Scottish Parliament TV online.

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