Nicola Sturgeon may have spoken at length of Boris Johnson’s right to decide what is best for England but her frustration was plain to see.
The prime minister has the right to announce policy shifts in whatever way he sees fit – he could even write them on the side of a bus if such was his wont.
But choosing to brief favoured Sunday papers, with Scottish circulations, as if the public health message covering Lands End to John o’Groats has shifted, was clumsy at best and possibly, horrifically cynical.
Westminster’s clarity of message has drifted somewhat since last week and was abandoned completely on Sunday night.
‘Stay at home’ is unequivocal. ‘Stay alert’ is open to interpretations which many will gladly seize upon.
It left Ms Sturgeon suddenly fighting a rearguard action to ensure the Scottish message – echoed in Wales and Northern Ireland – is not lost.
In normal times Mr Johnson, with his love of a wartime metaphor, would appreciate the image of his cross-border rival on the back foot and scrambling to rally.
These are not normal times. This is not a time for political trickery.
Ms Sturgeon is correct – England has the right to choose how best to tackle the pandemic but if nothing else, mere common courtesy demands her closest neighbours and partners in the United Kingdom are kept abreast of such major announcements.
Lives hinge upon such decisions.
