Watch: Nicola Sturgeon breaks down in tears at Covid Inquiry

Even Nicola Sturgeon’s enemies agree that the former first minister is a formidable politician. But at the Covid Inquiry, Sturgeon appears to be struggling to keep it together. Asked whether she was the ‘right’ person to lead Scotland following her earlier criticism that Boris Johnson was not up to the job, Sturgeon broke down in tears:

‘I was the first minister when the pandemic struck. There’s a large part of me that wishes I hadn’t been. But I was, and I wanted to be the best first minister I could be during that period. It’s for others to judge the extent to which I succeeded.’

NEW: Nicola Sturgeon breaks down in tears about whether she was the “right” First Minister to lead Scotland after her earlier criticism that Boris Johnson was not up to the job. @SkyNews pic.twitter.com/Vl5gtOqYKX

— Connor Gillies (@ConnorGillies) January 31, 2024

Since her departure as first minister last year, Sturgeon seems to be making something of a habit of crying in public. The ex-SNP leader fought back tears at her final first minister’s questions in March as she thanked Scots ‘from the bottom of my heart’. Sturgeon cried again at the SNP’s conference in October after she was shown a ‘greatest hits’ video reel.

Clearly there’s no shame in getting emotional: Winston Churchill famously wept in public on many occasions. But Mr Steerpike wonders whether all these tears are really necessary….