UNION CHIEF'S COVID INQUIRY CLAIM AUSTERITY COST WORKERS' LIVES

SCOTLAND'S most senior trade unionist will today claim Tory and SNP government austerity killed workers during the pandemic.

- PAUL HUTCHEON

Roz Foyer, of the STUC, will tell the UK Covid Inquiry that spending cuts had a "grave" impact on workers' safety during the public health crisis.

Both governments have faced sustained criticism over the poor protection offered to staff during Covid, particularly in the early part of the pandemic.

Foyer, whose body represents 540,000 workers, will lay part of the blame for the high number of deaths on austerity.

The Tory government has presided over 14 years of financial pressure on key public services, with Scots councils also complaining about settlements from Edinburgh.