Nicola Sturgeon branded Boris Johnson ‘f****** clown’ in Covid WhatsApp messages
Secret WhatsApps between Nicola Sturgeon and her former aide present the previous First Minister branded Boris Johnson “a f****** clown”.
The scathing description got here when the ex-PM introduced a second nationwide lockdown on October 31 2020 after weeks of ignoring requires extra stringent restrictions.
In messages uncovered by the Covid Inquiry, Ms Sturgeon stated his deal with was “f****** excruciating” and that the UK communications have been “awful”. She added: “Their comms are behind awful. We’re not perfect but we don’t get nearly enough credit for how much better than them we are.”
The former First Minister and ex-SNP chief additionally instructed her former chief of employees Liz Lloyd: “His utter incompetence in every sense is now offending me on behalf of politicians everywhere.” Ms Lloyd stated she was “offended” on behalf of particular advisers all over the place. Ms Sturgeon replied: “He is a f****** clown.” She went on: “They really are a shower… “
During the Inquiry listening to on Thursday Ms Lloyd was additionally requested if the connection between the ex-First Minister and the then-PM had “broken down”. She replied: “That overstates what was there to break.”
She stated of the ex-PM Mr Johnson: “He didn’t want to be on those calls, he wasn’t well briefed, he wasn’t listening, engagement with him became slightly pointless. They didn’t get us anywhere. We started with the approach we should work together, in co-ordinated fashion, but a substantive discussion isn’t what we got.
“The Prime Minister was studying a script and would largely ignore factors made.” She said Ms Sturgeon’s strong language showed her “frustration” towards Mr Johnson.
The former chief-of-staff also told Ms Sturgeon she wanted a “good old style rammy” with the UK Government so she could “take into consideration one thing apart from sick folks” in WhatsApp messages.
She instructed the First Minister she had “set a timetable” for the UK Government to answer the Scottish Government on furlough as a “purely political” move in the messages on November 12020. Ms Sturgeon said: “Yeah, I get it. And it is perhaps value doing. I’ve despatched a tough formulation of what I’d say tomorrow.”
The Covid Inquiry announced on Thursday that Ms Sturgeon will take the stand for the first time next week where she will be grilled on the Scottish government’s handling of the pandemic. The former SNP chief stood down as First Minister in a shock announcement nearly a 12 months in the past, saying she had been “wrestling” with the large determination for a while.
