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Nicola Sturgeon described Boris Johnson as a “clown” during the pandemic, a series of foul-mouthed messages shown to the COVID inquiry has revealed.

The exchange between the former first minister and her chief of staff Liz Lloyd took place on 31 October 2020 as the then prime minister appeared on TV to announce the second national lockdown.

Ms Sturgeon hit out at the UK government’s communications, stating: “This is f****** excruciating – their comms are awful.

“His utter incompetence in every sense is now offending me on behalf of politicians everywhere.”

Ms Lloyd said she was “offended” on behalf of special advisers everywhere.

Ms Sturgeon replied: “He is a f****** clown.”

The foul-mouthed exchange between Nicola Sturgeon and Liz Lloyd. Pic: PA/UK COVID-19 Inquiry
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The foul-mouthed exchange between Nicola Sturgeon and Liz Lloyd. Pic: UK COVID-19 Inquiry

Ms Lloyd’s evidence comes amid ongoing scrutiny over messages exchanged by ministers and officials during the pandemic.

Usman Tariq, junior counsel to the inquiry, highlighted an exchange made on 22 September 2020.

In a message sent to Ms Lloyd just two hours before a briefing in light of differing Westminster regulations, Ms Sturgeon said: “We haven’t thought about weddings. They are reducing but not sure what to.”

Special adviser Ms Lloyd responded they should “just leave it” as the Scottish government had recently increased the number of guests allowed to 20.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon with her chief of staff Liz Lloyd at the SEC Centre in Glasgow during counting for the 2019 General Election. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday December 13, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Election. Photo credit should read: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
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Ms Lloyd with former first minister Ms Sturgeon in 2019. Pic: PA

Mr Tariq asked: “Is this not an example of a decision that was made very much at the last minute over WhatsApp between you and Nicola Sturgeon?”

Ms Lloyd said she did not view this as making a decision because it had already been made in cabinet.

She refuted a suggestion the message implied the decision was “made on the hoof”, arguing that sticking with the numbers determined earlier via scientific evidence was a “more coherent” position.

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Nicola Sturgeon branded Boris Johnson a ‘clown’ in a message during the pandemic

Ms Lloyd was said to be in favour of telling the public about a Nike conference in Edinburgh, the location of Scotland’s first recognised outbreak of the virus.

Then chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood strongly advised against it, citing patient confidentiality.

Ms Lloyd said she had “no recollection” of reading the Scottish government’s policy of deleting informal messages after decisions had been made.

She also said she regretted not being able to provide messages prior to 1 September 2020, stating: “I thought I had them. I have sourced them, I have done everything that I am able to do as far as I can to find them.

“I thought I had retained them, and they’re not there.”

She explained that she’s not the “best administrator of devices”, adding: “I can’t say whether I actively deleted them, I can’t say whether they got lost. I don’t know.”

Liz Lloyd. Pic: PA/UK COVID Inquiry
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Ms Lloyd giving evidence. Pic: PA/UK COVID-19 Inquiry

The inquiry was also shown a document from July 2020 where Brexit and Scottish independence were referenced.

In the cabinet meeting it was agreed that consideration should be given to “restarting work on independence”.

Lady Hallett, chair of the inquiry, questioned whether it looked like the “politicisation of the coronavirus pandemic” to advance the cause of independence.

Ms Lloyd replied: “It says consideration was given to this but was not done at this time.”

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The inquiry is currently sitting in Edinburgh as it probes the devolved administration’s response to the pandemic.

Ms Sturgeon will appear at the inquiry next Wednesday.

Ms Lloyd’s appearance came ahead of First Minister Humza Yousaf, who was giving evidence on Thursday afternoon.

Pic: PA
Liz Lloyd, former chief of staff to Nicola Sturgeon, arriving at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry hearing at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC). The hearing is examining core UK decision-making and political governance in Scotland. Picture date: Thursday January 25, 2024.
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Liz Lloyd arriving at the inquiry on Thursday. Pic: PA

Earlier in the week, the inquiry was shown a WhatsApp exchange in November 2021 between then health secretary Mr Yousaf and national clinical director Professor Jason Leitch.

At the time, COVID rules in Scotland meant people would not have to wear a mask if they were sitting down to eat or drink, but would if they were moving around a bar or restaurant while not drinking.

Ahead of an event, Mr Yousaf messaged: “I know sitting at the table I don’t need my mask. If I’m standing talking to folk, need my mask on?”

Mr Leitch responded: “Officially yes. But literally no one does. Have a drink in your hands at all times. Then you’re exempt. So if someone comes over and you stand, lift your drink.”

Professor Leitch rejected a suggestion that he had offered a “workaround” to the rules, while a spokesperson for Mr Yousaf said the exchange “simply shows the then health secretary seeking specific, up-to-date guidance from a senior adviser to ensure he was complying with the COVID rules”.

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Border Force to stage more strikes at Heathrow Airport during half term

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Border Force to stage more strikes at Heathrow Airport during half term

More strikes have been announced by Border Force staff at Heathrow Airport at the back end of half term.

The strike action will take place on 31 May and 1 and 2 June.

It will be followed by three weeks of action short of a strike, including staff working to rule and a ban on overtime running from 4 until 25 June.

More than 500 members of the PCS (public and commercial services) union will take part in the strikes, which come following a dispute over a new staff roster.

The PCS said it expects the walkouts to disrupt passport checks for travellers coming into the UK at the airport.

The staff, who work in terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5, started four days of strike action last month.

The union said it had written to the Home Office following the previous industrial action “highlighting the many problems raised” with the new system.

Its general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “We are keen to resolve this dispute but the Home Office must first put something on the table for our members to consider.

“The Home Office has said it is ‘open to discuss’ a resolution but it only responded to our request for a meeting after we threatened further action.

“Until it comes back with changes to the roster that will benefit our members then the dispute will continue.”

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A spokeswoman for Heathrow Airport said it would be working with the Home Office on contingency plans to minimise disruption to passengers.

She told Sky News that past strikes had been “dealt with well” and “managed successfully”.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “We are disappointed with the union’s decision to strike but remain open to discussing a resolution with PCS union.

“The changes we are implementing will bring the working arrangements for Border Force Heathrow staff in line with the way staff work at all other major ports, provide them with more certainty on working patterns, and improve the service to the travelling public.

“We have robust plans in place to minimise disruption where possible, but we urge passengers to check the latest advice from operators before they travel.”

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Rebecca Joynes: Teacher found guilty of sexual activity with two schoolboys

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Rebecca Joynes: Teacher found guilty of sexual activity with two schoolboys

A “predator” teacher has been found guilty of having sex with two schoolboys.

Rebecca Joynes, 30, was found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust, following a two-week trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Joynes had denied she had sex with one schoolboy, boy A, and insisted in court that her relationship with a second teenager, boy B, only began once he had left school and she had been fired from her job – so it wasn’t illegal.

Jurors heard that both boys sent Joynes flirty Snapchat messages, and hid the interactions from their parents.

She took boy A – who lied about going to a friend’s house after school finished on a Friday – shopping and bought him a £350 Gucci belt before they went back to her flat in Salford Quays, where they had sex twice, the court was told.

Joynes told the boy, “No one had better find out”.

The next day the court heard the boy’s mother noticed a love-bite on her son’s neck which he dismissed as, “nothing”.

However, rumours began circulating and on the Monday morning police officers were at the school along with boy A’s “distraught” mother who stormed into reception after being told her son had spent the night with a teacher.

Joynes was bailed on condition she have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.

The teenager’s semen was later recovered from her bedsheets by police.

Boy B said sexual activity began when he was 15, with kissing and full sex when he was 16 – and still a pupil.

Joynes was already suspended from her high school job when she allegedly kissed and fondled the second, boy B, after sending him a photo of her bottom wearing just a thong, the jury heard.

Boy B later told officers he viewed the relationship as “friends with benefits” and said they regularly had sex while he was still at school.

He said Joynes had told him she could not have a baby and they had unprotected sex.

Boy B told officers the day before Joynes was arrested for a second time, she had planned a “date night”, with “surprises” around the flat – to which he played along with and followed.

At the end it was a baby grow, saying, ‘Best Dad’ on the front.

“I was like, ‘What the f***!'”, boy B told police.

Joynes told the jury she had ruined her “dream job” with stupid “mistakes” by meeting up with the two teenagers and having them back at her flat, but had denied under-age sex.

She said she had come out of a nine-year relationship, was lonely and flattered by the attention.

During the trial, she appeared in court with a pink baby’s bonnet visibly tucked into her trousers.

It belonged to the child she had with boy B.

Joynes wept as she told jurors the baby she had with boy B was taken away from her hours after giving birth and she now has only limited access, three times a week.

Talking about the baby bonnet, prosecutor Joe Allman told the jury in his closing speech: “That was a pretty naked attempt to garner your sympathy.”

Jane Wilson, senior crown prosecutor for CPS North West, described Joynes as a “sexual predator”.

“Joynes was entrusted with the responsibility of teaching and safeguarding children. She abused her position to groom and ultimately sexually exploit schoolboys. Her behaviour has had a lasting impact on them.”

Neither teen can be identified for legal reasons.

Joynes will be sentenced on 4 July.

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Devon: Confirmed cases of disease more than double to 46 after parasite found in drinking water

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Devon: Confirmed cases of disease more than double to 46 after parasite found in drinking water

The confirmed cases of a waterborne disease caused by a parasite have more than doubled.

There are now 46 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, a diarrhoeal illness, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said – with more than 100 further people reporting similar symptoms in the Brixham area.

Other reported cases of diarrhoea and vomiting in residents and visitors to the south Devon town are also under investigation. Hundreds of locals have also reported feeling unwell over the last two weeks on social media.

MPs and South West Water officials have confirmed the parasite most likely entered water supplies through animal faeces, but an investigation is still ongoing.

What is cryptosporidiosis disease?

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‘Cow faeces’ infected Devon water

The UKHSA first confirmed cases of the disease at around midday on Wednesday, while locals were initially told by South West Water that their tap water was uncontaminated and safe to drink.

But after testing supplies in the Hillhead reservoir, the water company found “small traces” of the parasite cryptosporidium – which causes cryptosporidiosis – and told residents in parts of Brixham and Alston to boil their drinking water on Wednesday.

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A total of 16,000 households and businesses in Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and North West Paignton were impacted and offered £15 compensation at first.

Over the next two days, South West Water apologised to those affected and increased the offer to £115. Amid the chaos, one primary school closed its doors on Thursday due to not having safe running drinking water.

An area around Brixham, Devon, affected by a 'boil your tap water' warning. Pic: South West Water
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16,000 businesses and residents are affected by the boil water notice. Pic: South West Water

‘Very hard questions for water company’

Speaking to Sky News yesterday, South West Water’s chief customer officer Laura Flowerdew confirmed it was likely a broken air valve contaminated by animal faeces that had caused the outbreak.

However, she refused to give a timeframe on how long the incident would be ongoing – leaving thousands of residents facing an uncertain future.

Speaking on Friday at the University of Exeter, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said there will be “very, very hard questions” for South West Water over the outbreak.

“At the moment I think we probably need to give them the space to conduct their investigation; we know that they have identified the source,” she said.

“The public will want to know how on earth that source happened, what was the chain of events that led to this, because of course we all understand the expectation that we all have when we turn our taps on is that [we get] clean drinking water and we want to be able to trust it.”

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File pic: Dr_Microbe/iStock

Release of sporozoites from Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst, 3D illustration. Cryptosporidium is a protozoan, microscopic parasite, the causative agent of the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis
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Most cases of cryptosporidiosis pass in two weeks. Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. File pic: Dr_Microbe/iStock

‘Expect to see more cases’

Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall also warned the boil notice could last “at least a further six or seven days” and called for more transparency.

Professor Paul Hunter, a specialist in medical microbiology at the University of East Anglia, told Sky News if the parasite was “a continuous thing” present in water supplies for a prolonged period, then “you’d expect to see more cases” for another two weeks.

It comes as hotel owners in the area told Sky News the outbreak has led to people cancelling their stay, while a head chef said “I can’t wash salad in the sink”.

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‘Destroyed our business’

Stephen Colemansfield, owner of Redlands Guest House in Brixham, told Sky News the outbreak has “destroyed our business at the moment”.

“Our guests have cancelled because of the mixed messages that are being sent out by South West Water.”

Rob, head chef at the Steam Packet Inn in Kingswear near Dartmouth, also said his brother-in-law is one of the 46 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis and has been sick for two weeks.

The UKHSA is working with Torbay Council, South West Water, NHS Devon and the Environment Agency on the incident.

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