What’s going on with Nicola Sturgeon’s memory?

Nicola Sturgeon’s memory is a fascinating and frustrating thing.

At times, the former First Minister of Scotland’s powers of recall are quite remarkable. No detail escapes Sturgeonian examination, no nuance goes unnoticed. On other occasions, it fails her completely.

Take her appearance, in March 2021, before a committee of MSPs investigating the Scottish government’s handling of complaints of sexual assault levelled by a number of women against Alex Salmond. On that occasion, Sturgeon’s testimony was notable for its remarkable gaps. She simply didn’t remember details of a key meeting that had taken place just months previously. Even the extraordinary nature of the matters she was discussing could not help fill in the gaps in her recall.

Appearing in front of the UK Covid Inquiry in Edinburgh on Wednesday, Sturgeon showed no trace of that faulty memory. Her recollection was deep and wide. She remembered one particular cabinet meeting, she told counsel to the inquiry Jamie Dawson KC, ‘in detail’.