Boris Johnson tonight attempted to reassert his authority as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by setting out his lockdown exit strategy and rebuking Nicola Sturgeon. The First Minister had earlier launched a furious attack on Mr Johnson for dropping the 'stay at home' slogan, insisting she would keep using it for Scotland. She complained she had not been informed the slogan was being replaced with 'stay alert' before it was briefed to the media.
Addressing a briefing in Edinburgh after attending Cobra, Ms Sturgeon said she had demanded that the Westminster government does not deploy the new guidance in Scotland. But Mr Johnson made clear in his address to the nation that ultimately it is his decision how the four home nations respond to the crisis as he formally announced the new slogan. He said: 'I have consulted across the political spectrum, across all four nations of the UK... I believe that as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, there is a strong resolve to defeat this together.'
Ms Sturgeon had earlier delivered a brutal swipe at the PM, warning 'people will die unnecessarily' if progress against the disease is 'squandered' by 'easing up too soon or by sending mixed messages'. She said the message north of the border was 'stay at home, full stop'. Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford also said he would be telling people that staying at home remains the best way to protect themselves and others, while Northern Ireland will not use the new Westminster information campaign.
Mr Johnson made specific reference to the UK as he ended his address, saying: 'And though the UK will be changed by this experience, I believe we can be stronger and better than ever before.' A furious Ms Sturgeon then hit back, saying Mr Johnson had not been clear enough that his lockdown exit strategy mainly only related to England. She said: 'It is incumbent on him... to stress that when he's talking about lifting these restrictions, he is talking for England.'
The open row came as senior Tories accused the SNP of exploiting the crisis in a 'tasteless' bid to fuel its independence campaign. Mr Johnson set out a three-phase plan to get life back to normal but warned any easing could be reversed if there is a spike in coronavirus transmission. He said schools will not start to reopen until June 1 'at the earliest', with pupils in reception, Year 1 and Year 6 the first to go back. However, Wales and Scotland have already dismissed the idea, with Ms Sturgeon suggesting there is little prospect of them returning north of the border until August.
