The Covid inquiry has brought to light a lot of the misdeeds of the UK’s politicians. Let’s have a quick review: Rishi Sunak gave this laughable excuse for not handing his messages over to the inquiry, Boris Johnson and the Conservatives were partying it up while the rest of the nation were in lockdown, and now we have new revelations regarding the Scottish National Party’s behaviour.
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Nicola Sturgeon's rude description of Boris
Nicola Sturgeon, who served as the First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023, has had her fair share of unwanted press attention. On 5 April 2023, her husband Peter Murrell was arrested as part of an investigation into the funding and finances of the SNP. As the investigation was ongoing, Sturgeon was seen without her wedding ring - well, you can image the scandal.
Now, she’s facing yet more criticism over her use of language in WhatsApp messages unveiled by the inquiry. On 25 January, it was revealed that Sturgeon had called Boris Johnson ‘a f****** clown’. To give some context, she texted this to Liz Lloyd - who served as her chief of staff and strategic adviser between 2015 and 2023 - while Boris was announcing the UK’s second lockdown on October 31, 2020:
We’re not perfect but we don’t get nearly enough credit for how much better than them we are. This is f---ing excruciating - their comms are awful.
She didn’t mince her words, stating that ‘his utter incompetence in every sense’ was offending her ‘on behalf of politicians everywhere’. However, she wasn’t the only SNP member to throw around some naughty language over WhatsApp.
Humza Yousaf slammed a Labour MSP
Humza Yousaf, who was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in May 2021 before replacing Sturgeon as First Minister in 2023, was also exposed during the inquiry.
Again, to give you some context: Yousaf told the National Clinical Director of the Scottish Government that he wanted to check a question regarding the Omicron coronavirus variant.
In a message to Professor Leitch, Yousaf wrote:
I thought I’d triple check seeing as it’s Neil Findlay and he is an a—hole.
He followed this up with another message, leaving no doubt about his true feelings: ‘I just wanted to triple check as he is a tw-t’.
So there we have it: a double whammy for the SNP when it comes to their potty mouths.
Read more:
⋙ Nicola Sturgeon: Here's how she met her husband Peter Murrell
⋙ Humza Yousaf's salary: How much does the First Minister of Scotland get paid?
⋙ Rishi Sunak owns four luxury homes, here’s the rundown on his £14m portfolio
Sources used:
The Guardian: Humza Yousaf apologises to Covid inquiry over message handling
The Telegraph: Humza Yousaf called Labour MSP an 'a---hole'
