Of the 10,055 deaths registered in Scotland where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate since the beginning of the pandemic, National Records of Scotland (NRS) has revealed there were 129 deaths in the category of ‘process, plant and machine operatives’, which included taxi and bus drivers, food and drink processing staff and maintenance and repair workers.

People working in skilled trades such as carpenters, plumbers, joiners and electricians accounted for a further 100 deaths, while 71 care workers – including care home staff and NHS employees – lost their lives.

Reports in the Sunday Mail yesterday revealed that dozens of law firms are offering to take action against care homes, the Scottish Government and employers on behalf of Covid-19 victims and their families.

Patrick McGuire, head of personal injury specialists Thompsons Solicitors, who is already working with more than 100 clients preparing to go to court over relatives who died in care, has warned that is the “tip of the iceberg”, with tens of thousands of potential claims.

He told the Sunday Mail: “The pandemic is being painted as an unavoidable hazard – something that was inevitably going to happen.

“But we just don’t accept that in terms of employment and health and safety legislation, and in terms of the duties that employers, care homes and other public sector institutions were required to live up to.

“Yes, it is a horrible virus that spread through the world but that doesn’t mean everyone is absolved of all responsibility. Care home operators and other employers still have to take responsibility for not infecting employees or customers.

“The public were told to stop the spread but the fact is that many employers didn’t stop it and that led directly to people becoming seriously ill and dying.

“There are tens of thousands of people out there who have contracted this disease in circumstances where they should not have done, and that could have been down to negligence.”