Ione Gildroy
A text conversation shown during the UK Covid Inquiry has revealed that former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described Boris Johnson as a “clown” during the pandemic.
WHAT DID THE TEXTS SAY?
The text exchange took place between Sturgeon and her Chief of Staff, Liz Lloyd, following Johnson’s announcement of a second national lockdown in 2020.
Sturgeon said she was offended “on behalf of politicians everywhere” by Johnson’s “utter incompetence” following the Downing Street announcement, which she described as “excruciating.”
"We don't get nearly enough credit for how much better than them we are."
Nicola Sturgeon called Boris Johnson a fucking clown as he announced the second national lockdown pic.twitter.com/Em0oSIN7JL
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) January 25, 2024
Lloyd also said in the exchange she was offended on behalf of special advisors.
Sturgeon then continued to call Johnson a “f***ing clown.”
Her aide said Sturgeon’s language showed her frustration at the situation.
NICOLA STURGEON AND BORIS JOHNSON
This evidence comes as part of the ongoing Covid inquiry into the response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and amid scrutiny over the messages exchanged by ministers and officials during the pandemic.
Lloyd told the Covid inquiry that engagement and communication with Johnson became “pointless” and the relationship became “much harder” in the early months of the pandemic, as she alleged he became difficult to engage with.
Lloyd explained that the conversation with Sturgeon was the result of “chaos” within the UK government surrounding Covid restrictions and lockdowns.
She added that the Scottish government had to “mitigate” this as the ordeal affected the public perception of the pandemic and government, even if the restrictions did not apply in Scotland.
“We were clearly not very complimentary about their communications handling that day,” she said.
Despite this, Johnson had previously said he and Sturgeon had a “friendly” relationship.
CHALLENGES OF MESSAGING APPS
Current First Minister Hamza Yousaf has announced an external review into the Scottish government’s use of messaging apps, with Yousaf admitting there are “challenges” in how these apps are being used in government.
Yousaf said the handling of requests for messages to be made public had not been the government’s “finest hour.”
He added that the way these requests had been dealt with had not given the public confidence in the government.
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Featured image courtesy of Number 10 on Flickr. No changes made to this image. Image license found here.
