Pro-UK parties have hit out at Nicola Sturgeon for publishing draft legislation for a Scottish independence referendum during the ongoing pandemic.

Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, said: “It is beyond the comprehension of most Scots that Nicola Sturgeon considers this to be a priority.

“Scotland continues to be gripped by the global pandemic and even once normality slowly returns, the shockwaves will be felt for years to come.”

He insisted the motivation for publishing the draft bill was “as much to do with distracting people from the Sturgeon-Salmond scandal”.

Similarly, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: “We are still in a pandemic. Thousands have lost their lives, thousands more have lost their job. Reasonable people will think that this is the wrong moment to be pushing a referendum.”

He added: “Dozens of civil servants could have been planning to get cancer services running full speed but they’ve been ordered to do this instead. Or they could have been working on getting funds to business, better mental health services or support for schools.”

Elsewhere, pro-independence Scottish Green Party welcomed the draft bill, with co-leader Lorna Slater saying in a statement: “Scotland’s future must be in the hands of those who live and work in Scotland, and the Scottish Greens are asking people to vote like our future depends on it this May.

“Our manifesto will support a referendum on our shared future, and polls show we may be crucial in ensuring this bill passes.”

Asked what the BBC’s unique selling point was, compared to its more technologically advanced competitors, the BBC’s Tim Davie answered simply: “High quality British content that you can trust”.

Mr Davie said the BBC has a “different purpose” to streaming services.

“We are absolutely coming from a different point of view,” he told the Public Affairs Committee. “We are not trying to make a paid subscription business work.”

He added: “We have a different purpose. I’m not running a business for profit, I’m running… an organisation for purpose.”

Mr Davie is currently giving evidence to the committee alongside the BBC’s chief content officer Charlotte Moore.

Tim Davie told a government committee on Monday he has a “healthy paranoia about [the] sustainability” of the BBC’s TV licence model.

Speaking to the Public Accounts Committee on Monday, the BBC’s director-general answered questions about how the publicly funded platform can stay relevant.

Concerns were raised about how the BBC could compete with ever-growing streaming platforms such as Netflix but Mr Davie seemed to suggest this was not something anyone should focus on.

“Our role here is not to beat Netflix, we’re not going to beat them. The goal is to do something different,” he said.

“What the BBC needs to do is be distinctive.”

Mr Davie added distinct features, such as locally made dramas and its bitesize education output, made the BBC “highly distinctive” to its streaming competitors.

The committee meeting continues.

The Duke of Cambridge has been appointed Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2021, Downing Street has announced.

William was given the role in 2020 but the General Assembly was cancelled last May due to the coronavirus crisis.

The appointment – the sovereign’s personal representative to the Annual General Assembly – was approved by the Queen.

The government has acquired a second, brand new plane painted in the colours of the union flag to be used by Boris Johnson and other dignitaries for short-haul trips.

The government faced criticism last year when it emerged Boris Johnson’s primary plane, the RAF Voyager, had been repainted with the union flag at a cost to the UK taxpayer of £900,000.

A government spokesperson insisted the second aircraft, which it said had been repainted with a “Global Britain livery”, represents “value for money”. They declined to comment on the cost of the lease or new paintwork.

My colleague Tom Batchelor has this exclusive story:

China blacklisted 10 EU parliamentarians and scholars, as well as four entities, in retaliation against the bloc’s approval of sanctions over Beijing’s crackdown on the Uighur minority.

The Chinese foreign ministry said EU parliamentary figures Butikofer, Michael Gahler, Raphael Glucksmann, Ilhan Kyuchyuk and Miriam Lexmann were among those who “severely harm China’s sovereignty and interests and maliciously spread lies and disinformation”.

“The individuals concerned and their families are prohibited from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao of China,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “They and companies and institutions associated with them are also restricted from doing business with China.”

The UK’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, is due to give an update on the situation to the House of Commons at 3.30pm.

The Scottish government has published its draft legislation which outlines plans for a second independence referendum.

The Scottish Independence Referendum Bill stipulates the next Scottish parliament should decide the timing of any referendum.

The draft bill states the question asked should be the same as at the 2014 referendum – “Should Scotland be an independent country?”.

The proposed legislation would also extend voting eligibility to match the franchise at Scottish parliament and local government elections.

It comes as reports suggest the independent inquiry into whether Nicola Sturgeon breached the ministerial code is expected to be released on Monday.

The DUP said in a statement that it is committed to the balanced upholding of all aspects of the devolution settlement. The statement reads:

“Each strand can only fully function when the others are working properly. They are all interdependent.

We have seen the erection of barriers between GB and NI on trade and the application of laws governing our country as well as blatant disrespect for the unionist identity.

We remain committed to New Decade New Approach. All of these issues must be addressed and resolved along with the NDNA commitments if we are to achieve stability for Northern Ireland.

The way forward is through dialogue and political discussion.”

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s shadow health secretary, has said he will back NHS staff if they take industrial action over a 1 per cent pay offer from the government.

Mr Ashworth called on health secretary Matt Hancock to withdraw the offer and sit down with staff to discuss a multi-year settlement, which he said was essential to fill a 100,000 NHS vacancy gap.

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports:

The independent inquiry into whether Nicola Sturgeon breached the ministerial code is expected to be released on Monday, according to reports.

An investigation by James Hamilton QC has been examining whether Scotland’s first minister misled parliament.

He is also examining if she should have recorded meetings with Alex Salmond and whether she prolonged the government’s defence of a judicial review brought by her predecessor contrary to the legal advice.

It is believed the Scottish government will receive the report from Mr Hamilton on Monday, although this is yet to be confirmed by the government itself.