The UK Covid Inquiry has heard that Nicola Sturgeon called Boris Johnson a “clown” in a text conversation with her chief of staff. The messages were shown to the inquiry, which also revealed that the former first minister described a Downing Street announcement about a second Covid lockdown in England as “excruciating”. Ms Sturgeon was reportedly offended by Mr Johnson’s “utter incompetence” during the pandemic. Liz Lloyd, who served as chief of staff and a strategic adviser to Ms Sturgeon, said the language showed Ms Sturgeon’s “frustration” at the UK government’s communications.
Engagement with Mr Johnson became “pointless” in the early months of the pandemic, according to Lloyd, who said it was evident during talks with devolved leaders that he “didn’t want to be on those calls, he wasn’t necessarily well briefed on those calls and he wasn’t listening to the points we were making on those calls”. Ms Lloyd claimed that although there was better communication between the two governments on health, discussions with the prime minister “didn’t get us anywhere”.
The inquiry also heard that Ms Lloyd told Ms Sturgeon in WhatsApp messages that she wanted a “good old-fashioned rammy” with the UK government so she could “think about something other than sick people”. Ms Sturgeon is expected to give evidence to the inquiry next week.
Ms Lloyd was the first Scottish government figure to submit WhatsApp messages to the inquiry in July 2023. It came as First Minister Humza Yousaf announced an externally-led review into the Scottish government’s use of mobile messaging apps, conceding that there are “challenges” in relation to how the app is used in government.Calibri
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