A registered nurse in Scotland has said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon ‘must resign’ over the spread of Covid-19 in care homes during the pandemic.

Lesley Roberts who was an infection control link nurse and a workplace health and safety rep for Unite the Union in 2020 intends to present evidence to a Scottish public inquiry into the pandemic, the Scottish Daily Express reported.

In an email to the first minister, Roberts said she would be publicly calling for her resignation over the government’s handling of care homes during the pandemic.

Roberts wrote: “Someone with a lack of moral compass, empathy and integrity has no place in public office.”

There have been around 4,300 Covid-19 related deaths in care homes with around 1,900 of these occurring during the first 12 weeks of the pandemic.

The first minister has admitted the transfer of untested hospital patients to care homes during the pandemic was “a mistake”.

The government launched the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry to establish the facts about the devolved response to the Covid-19 pandemic and identify lessons for the future in February 2022.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “All policy decisions and guidance were made on the best clinical and public health advice and latest scientific evidence available at the time. The first minister will write to Ms Roberts in due course.”