THE First Minister has hit out at former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson over her “utterly disgraceful” comment about a Covid-19 expert.

This morning Devi Sridhar, who advises the Scottish Government on coronavirus and is the chair of global public health at Edinburgh University, tweeted a thread explaining how she thinks schools can get back to normal when they return in August.

The professor explained that if Scotland can reduce its number of confirmed virus cases to less than 20 by August 11, schools can “reopen as normally as possible” – meaning children will be able to attend full-time and play and interact with each other. Currently the Scottish Government plans to get pupils back in the classroom on a part-time basis.

 Journalist Peter Macmahon retweeted Sridhar’s thread with the angle that she, like former FM Jack McConnell, is one of the voices calling for Nicola Sturgeon to do more to get pupils back in schools on a full-time basis.

Sridhar rejected the theory – saying she and the SNP leader are “completely aligned”, adding she supports her “cautious approach” to easing lockdown. The expert said Sturgeon has the best interest of kids, teachers and parents in mind in her plan to go slowly and track the virus closely.

Tory MSP Davidson then stepped in to suggest Sturgeon had been furious with Sridhar over her thread explaining how schools could get back to some form of normality.

She wrote: “Guess someone got the hairdryer treatment over the phone..”

The First Minister immediately rejected the suggestion. “Untrue,” she replied, “but more importantly, utterly disgraceful to suggest that a highly respected expert (who I suspect has more integrity in her wee finger than *some* have overall) would be susceptible to that.”

Sturgeon this morning retweeted Sridhar’s suggestion and backed her on the comments.

She wrote: "Right now (like other UK nations), we must plan for a school model based on physical distancing.

"But as @devisridhar says, *if* we can suppress virus sufficiently & have other measures in place, nearer normality may be possible. It's why we must stick with plan to suppress."

The First Minister continued: "We'll be guided by evidence & won't compromise safety (we still don't know everything about this virus). And we'll work with parents, young people & teachers to build confidence. All countries grappling with these tough issues - @scotgov determined to do right for children."