‘F***ing Clown’: Covid WhatsApps Expose Nicola Sturgeon’s Blistering Take On Boris Johnson
Nicola Sturgeon’s thoughts on Johnson were revealed in WhatsApps shown to the Covid inquiry.
Scotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon ripped former Prime Minister Boris Johnson a “fucking clown” in a series of explosive WhatsApp messages sent during the pandemic.
The messages, shown as part of the Covid inquiry hearing with Sturgeon’s top advisor Liz Lloyd, revealed the former Scottish first minister’s harsh criticism of Johnson during what was the second pandemic lockdown.
“His utter incompetence in every sense is now offending me on behalf of politicians everywhere,” Sturgeon wrote in October 2020 to Lloyd.
The inquiry also shed light on apparent political manoeuvring by Sturgeon and her team in November 2020. Top officials were caught discussing how to leverage the Covid crisis to push the Scottish independence agenda. Lloyd, in particular, was keen on a “good old-fashioned rammy” with the Tory government, seeking to shift focus from the pandemic.
In her defence, Lloyd told the inquiry that the Scottish government “had to mitigate the chaos that appeared around some of the decisions [Downing Street] took.”
Sturgeon’s use of private emails and deletion of pandemic-related messages has come under intense scrutiny. Despite previously insisting that no informal messages influenced Covid decisions, it emerged that messages were routinely deleted. Yet, Sturgeon maintains that any relevant information from her private inbox was passed to the Scottish government.
The Scottish Tories have condemned the revelations, calling it “disgusting” to exploit the crisis for political gains. Scottish Labour is now demanding an investigation into Sturgeon’s communications practices.
In a separate development, SNP leader and current First Minister Humza Yousaf is set to testify at the inquiry. This comes amid ongoing scrutiny over his adherence to mask rules during the pandemic, including a notable exchange where he was advised to “have a drink in your hands at ALL times” to be exempt from mask-wearing at a public event.
