NICOLA Sturgeon and Jackson Carlaw have clashed in the angriest Holyrood exchanges of the coronavirus crisis as the First Minister announced a further lifting of the lockdown. 

The Scottish Tory leader accused Ms Sturgeon of lacking ambition after she said there would be a staggered lifting of restrictions at a markedly slower pace than south of the border.

As MSPs jeered bitterly, Mr Carlaw said the SNP Government didn’t grasp the depth of the economic crisis and tried to hide behind “the Twitter mob” when criticised.

Ms Sturgeon in return said Mr Carlaw was “incapable of rising to the challenge of a national crisis” and wanted “utterly reckless” relaxations that would endanger lives.

Under the move into Phase 2 of the four-stage exit strategy, households will be able to meet in larger groups, and separated couples will be able to resume physical intimacy tomorrow.

From Monday, face coverings will become mandatory on public transport, places of worship re-open for individual prayer, and professional sport resume.

However non-essential shops, which had been expected to reopen this weekend, must wait until June 29 - and only open if they have a street entrance, with mall shops staying shut. 

Beer gardens and outdoor restaurants also have to stay closed for now, with Ms Sturgeon telling MSPs she would make a further announcement on July 2, pending further research.

In a concession to businesses critical of the 2m distancing rule they fear will decimate customer numbers, she said this would be reviewed to see if there were ways in which it could be reduced to 1 or 1.5m.

Responding for the Scottish Tories, Mr Carlaw said: “It’s no exaggeration to say that lives and livelihoods are on the line over the coming months.

“We are facing potentially the biggest economic downturn of our lives.

“We need government to respond in kind with urgency and ambition, and I simply do not think this government is showing that ambition.”

He asked how single working parents were supposed to go back to their jobs when there was only a “contingency” plan for how schools might operate from their return in August.

Ms Sturgeon said: “I think it’s regrettable that Jackson Carlaw is incapable of rising to the challenge of a national crisis.”

She said she had recognised all along how difficult the measures were for businesses, but she had to protect lives from a deadly virus.

“It’s not too long ago that Jackson Carlaw stood up in this parliament and made the claim that this Government hadn’t and wasn’t doing enough to protect health and save lives.

“Now he seems to think we should throw caution to the wind, forget that this virus is a threat, and simply take action that would not be responsible.”

She said the WHO had warned of local flare-ups after schools had returned in other countries, and any contingency plans for Scottish schools would maximise time in class.

Mr Carlaw said: “We need much more ambition from this government. 

“Children need it so they can get back to school and continue their education. Working parents also need it so they have a chance of staying in work.

“And on the economic recovery I’m afraid this government is simply not listening.”

He said companies had been unable to get calls with officials or ministers.

Ms Sturgeon said she would be talking to business leaders later today and said Mr Carlaw was trying to distract attention from the problems of the Tory Government at Westminster.

She said Mr Carlaw would have welcomed the latest lifting of restrictions two weeks ago, and that would have been “utterly reckless” and “put lives at risk”.

She said: “That’s why I think increasing numbers of people across Scotland are glad that Jackson Carlaw is not standing in this position [as FM].

“If we ease restrictions too quickly this virus will run out of control again and we will be right back at square one.

“If we did that, the first person that would be standing up in this chamber saying we’d gone too quickly and not discharged our responsibility would be Jackson Carlaw, because he blows with the wind, or rather he blows in whatever direction his colleagues in Westminster tell him to.”

The Scottish Tory leader said he hoped Ms Sturgeon was listening to business leaders as well as talking to them because “she needs all the help she can get”.

He cited Ms Sturgeon’s most trusted economic adviser, SNP Growth Commission chair Andrew Wilson, warning this week that Scotland would probably have the worst performing economy in the developed world as a result of the pandemic. 

He then criticised SNP finance secretary Kate Forbes for going on Twitter to nitpick about media coverage of Mr Wilson’s comments instead of focusing on the pandemic.

He said: “Can someone tell Scotland’s finance minister that Trumpian tweets don’t make jobs? That getting the Twitter mob to blame the media don’t make jobs?

“Isn’t it the case that this SNP Government simply doesn’t understand or comprehend the depth of the economic crisis we’re about to go through?”

Ms Sturgeon said she understood the health, economic and education crises full well, and blamed the “tone and tenor” of Mr Carlaw’s questions for the atmosphere in the chamber.

She said: “We will continue to try to steer a steady, consistent and safe path for the country through this.

“I will continue to do that non party politically as far as I can, but I do really regret the constant tendency of Jackson Carlaw to try to politicise all of these issues.

“Perhaps the most egregious example of that inconsistency, if I can put it that mildly, is this: Jackson Carlaw of course, who lead the pack baying for the head of [former Chief Medical Officer] Cath Calderwood lost his tongue over Dominic Cummings. That is the hypocrisy that has no place when you’re dealing with a national crisis.”

Mr Carlaw said: “Scotland needs imagination, ambition and an open mind. A front bench team that deals in angry tweets rather than commonsense solutions doesn’t augur well.”

“Isn’t it time for Scotland to get back to work and for ministers to engage with everyone else to achieve it?”

The FM replied: “I think Jackson Carlaw should maybe deal with the Twitter trolls on his own benches before he gives anyone else lessons.”

She went on: “If Jackson Carlaw wants to continue just to snipe from the sidelines, then I will leave him to do that because I have hard work to do and I am going to get on with the hard graft of getting this country through coronavirus, doing that safely, and building the sustainable recovery that we all want.

“I’ll focus on that job and I’ll leave Jackson Carlaw to indulge in whatever makes him happy.”