NICOLA Sturgeon has been urged not to follow Boris Johnson’s Covid “surrender strategy” by one of her former MPs.

Neale Hanvey said the First Minister should break with the UK Government’s four nations approach to tackling the pandemic and steer her own course.

Mr Hanvey, who defected to Alex Salmond’s Alba party in March, said Scotland must not be dragged into Mr Johnson’s “dangerous” plan to scrap Covid restrictions within days.

The Prime Minister has said he wants to end all social distancing measures, including face coverings for those who want to unmask, in England on the “freedom day” of July 19. 

The UK Government admits the move could see daily Covid cases top 100,000 a day, far above anything seen so far in the pandemic, but ministers say widespread vaccination should mean there are relatively few deaths compared to the start of the outbreak.

However there are fears that letting the virus rip could overwhelm hospitals with new admissions and force millions of people to self-isolate.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson’s ‘Freedom Day’ is a big gamble – will it pay off? - Michael Settle

In Scotland, Ms Sturgeon has said she will decide next Tuesday whether to end outdoor social distancing measures in Scotland the same day.

Other restrictions are pencilled in for lifting on August 9 north of the border.

She said this week that she would not be shadowing Mr Johnson’s approach, keeping face coverings in place, but admitted Scots could well copy whatever happened in England. 

Mr Hanvey said: “The First Minister was entirely right to say yesterday that controls such as masks need to stay, despite the UK government’s ludicrous decision to do away with them in the face of a third wave of Delta-variant Covid infections.”

A former specialist cancer nurse, the Kirkcaldy MP also urged Ms Sturgeon not to rely on Chinese lateral flow tests after concerns were raised about their accuracy.

He said: “She must now continue to chart an independent path by breaking with the UK’s dangerous approach to testing.

“As someone who had a 25-year NHS career in cancer care, I know how vitally important surveillance of any virus or disease is. 

“If you can’t detect an issue early and accurately, you can have a serious problem on your hands. That’s why we need fast, accurate testing, and the inaccurate imports of the UK Government are not the answer.

“In fact, the tests that the UK government has decided to use are not even manufactured to pick up the prevailing Delta variant, and they’ve never been licensed to test for asymptomatic cases of Covid-19."

READ MORE: Covid - Mounting pressure on NHS hospitals should have been anticipated

He added: “The First Minister must distance Scotland from this disastrous Coronavirus surrender strategy that Boris Johnson is embarking upon. 

“By doing this we have a far greater chance of getting the virus back under control. 

“Otherwise I fear we will walk lockstep into yet another lockdown across the UK as autumn approaches.”