SCOTTISH Labour leader Richard Leonard has called on Scotland’s human rights commission to scrutinise the SNP government’s response to the coronavirus in care homes.

Mr Leonard said that one of the “greatest tragedies” of the Covid-19 crisis was its impact on care home residents.

He has written to the commission to see if decisions taken by the Scottish government during the pandemic have violated the human rights of care home residents.

Care home deaths in Scotland during the crisis are higher than any other country in Britain.

Mr Leonard said that the guidance in Scotland was “discriminatory” against care home residents.

He told the commission that care home deaths during the crisis were 82 per cent higher than the average over the last five years, yet the SNP-led government at Holyrood has advised hospitals not to admit care home residents.

Mr Leonard said: “Respecting the rights of our most vulnerable citizens should be paramount, particularly at a time of a national crisis and emergency.

“There should be consideration of whether decisions taken by the Scottish government during the last three months have recognised and respected the human rights of care home residents.

“With Scotland registering the highest level of Covid-19 care home deaths in the UK, and perhaps proportionately in the world, it is vital that we ensure that lessons are learnt to stop this ever happening again.

“We cannot bring back the victims but we must seek answers to what went wrong and establish whether the rights of older people were compromised. 

“The human rights of residents and staff working in Scotland’s care homes must be respected.”