Anas Sarwar has accused Nicola Sturgeon of "ducking and diving" for failing to take accountability for discharging untested patients in care homes during the covid pandemic.
The Scottish Labour leader took aim at the First Minister at Holyrood following a ruling from the High Courts in England on Wednesday.
Judges ruled that the UK Government's policy on discharging untested patients into care homes were unlawful.
While the court's judgment did not cover Scotland, the issue of discharges into care homes has come under scrutiny north of the border, too.
A public inquiry has been set up to cover the Scottish Government 's handling of the pandemic and will be chaired by Lady Poole.
Sarwar urged Sturgeon to not push grieving families to go to court to answers on what happened in care homes in Scotland.
He said: "Families will be hearing the sympathies the First Ministers expressed, but they'll also hear the ducking and diving that's been expressed by the First Minister, as well.
"Let's look at the consequences of this shameful decision. In the first wave of the pandemic, 4,073 people died with covid in Scotland, 1,900 of them in care homes.
"That's almost 50 per cent. By the time the government acted half of all care home in Scotland had to covid outbreak.
"Families have been through the heartbreak of losing a loved one. Many of them couldn't be there at the final moments and it seems that the First Minister is suggesting that those families should perhaps go through the court system here in Scotland to get the truth.
"So don't force those families to relive that heartache all over again, being dragged through the courts and being put through the emotional toll that comes with it, having to spend thousands of pounds in order to get you to admit the truth.
"Do you finally accept your government's decisions and actions were unlawful, unreasonable or irrational and cost lives?"
Sturgeon hit back at Sarwar saying she did not "suggest that people should have to go to court" and that Scotland did take different measures to England with regards to care homes.
She said: "Anas Sarwar shamefully I think misrepresenting my words.
"I did not suggest that people should have to go to court. What I recognised was that people have a right if they so choose to go to court and they may choose to do that. That was not a suggestion that they should.
"I believe people should get the answers to the questions that they have around all aspects of the handling of this pandemic without having to do that, which is why this government has set up an independent public inquiry chaired by a senior high court judge."
'Embedded in my soul'
The SNP leader said all questions regarding care homes will be answered in the public inquiry.
She added: "I don't have to be reminded of the numbers and the consequences of this pandemic.
"These facts and figures and the human consequences are embedded in my soul and will always be.
"That does not mean my decisions and my actions and those of my government could in any way not be subject to scrutiny.
"They should be subject to full independent scrutiny and that is exactly what the independent public inquiry is going to do.
"That's what families deserve and they deserve that that process takes place in a proper way."
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