Nicola Sturgeon’s maskless incident used as political capital
Scotland’s First Minister was seen without a mask in a barber shop on Saturday in East Kilbride, breaching Scotland’s then-in-place law that requires face coverings indoors.
In response to the incident, Ms Sturgeon said she realised she had forgotten to put her face covering on “within seconds” of being in the shop. Video footage of the visit shows her putting on a face covering soon after entering the shop.
“I then immediately put it on. However, I accept that not wearing a face covering even for a few seconds was an error on my part and I am sorry for that,” she added.
Following questioning from Police Scotland, she explained, “This is what they would have done with anyone else in these circumstances, and they were absolutely right to treat me no differently to any other citizen. I explained that the error was inadvertent and the police have confirmed that the matter is closed.”
Since COVID rules came into force two years ago, this is the second time the First Minister has been found in violation of any laws. But these few seconds have been enough to spark political bias, cries of hypocrisy, draw parallels between the incident and the 17 parties that took place at Downing Street, and calls for Ms Sturgeon’s resignation.
Several of Scotland’s newspapers displayed a clear anti-SNP sentiment, while several English newspapers displayed a pro-Tory-Westminster, an anti-Scottish sentiment.
As opinion remains divided around fines for the Prime Minister and his party following breaches of lockdown rules, Ms Sturgeon’s momentary violation of COVID rules became instant ammunition.
Police speak to Nicola Sturgeon over mask breach
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It is ironic that on the day Nicola Sturgeon lifted the legal requirement to wear a face covering in shops and on buses, she is in the news for breaking her own rules
- It is embarrassing for Scotland’s principal rule maker to have the police calling her out for being a Covid rule-breaker
If we are to have any consistency in how rules are now being retrospectively enforced, surely the First Minister of Scotland must now be fined too
- No one thought that [Boris Johnson’s] cake giving and singsong was against the rules. Yet two years later, through the distorted lens of Partygate, suddenly this innocuous event has been judged to be rule breaking: gatherings of more than two people were banned by law at the time of the birthday celebration in June 2020
- Interpretations of the rules up until last week did not suggest that such an event would come anywhere close to breaching the rules: rules clearly stated that people were not allowed to leave their homes at the time without a sufficient reason, e.g. essential workers, Boris Johnson’s national address told the country to “stay at home”
- We have rewritten history and reimagined the rules to be more draconian than they actually were: the Gov.UK Twitter account published the rules in England clearly in May 2020, the day of the Downing Street ‘garden party’
- The First Minister of Scotland was pictured breaching her own rules over the weekend. Not wearing a mask despite enforcing others to do so. A minor breach of the rules, as minor perhaps as daring to have a birthday cake.
Partygate Showdown: Johnson’s walk of shame
Mirror
Nicola Sturgeon facing calls to RESIGN over maskless barber visit
Scottish Daily Mail
Sturgeon gets police warning but no fine after mask law break
The Times
Nicola Sturgeon gets away with a WARNING after being pictured without a mask on during election visit to barbers – amid calls for her to QUIT if fined after demanding that Boris Johnson do the same over Partygate law-breaking
‘Blurring the lines’ Sturgeon row erupts as Scottish health chief DEFENDS her Covid breach
Nicola Surgeon apologises for ‘few seconds’ without face covering after being spoken to by police
