Lady Poole has stepped down as the chair of the Scottish Government’s Covid inquiry.
The top judge – who went to Madras College as a pupil and worked at Dundee University – handed in her notice “for personal reasons”, it was announced on Monday.
Lady Poole KC had been appointed to lead the investigation into the successes and failures of how ministers responded to the pandemic.
Deputy first minister John Swinney said he was thankful for the work she had done and confirmed a new chair will be chosen to head up the inquiry.
He said: “I am grateful to Lady Poole for the important work she has undertaken since the establishment of this inquiry, and for her offer to assist with the transition to her successor during a notice period of up to three months.
“I thank Lady Poole for her work and wish her well.”
He added: “I have already spoken with the Lord President about arrangements for appointing a new judicial chair for the independent inquiry.”
The new inquiry chair will look at 12 different aspects of how SNP ministers tackled Covid.
Key areas included how lockdown measures were imposed on the country, and how prepared the country was in advance.
Oxford University-educated Lady Poole KC was elevated to Scotland’s supreme court in 2020, making her a senator of the College of Justice of Scotland.
She attended Madras College in St Andrews while in secondary school, and later worked as a research assistant at Dundee University.
She also completed a separate course in arbitration at Aberdeen University.
