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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Ross Hunter

Nicola Sturgeon reveals she 'had literally no idea' who Alister Jack was

FORMER first minister Nicola Sturgeon has revealed she did not know who the Secretary of State for Scotland was when she first met him.

Speaking at the Aye Write book festival in the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow on Friday evening, Sturgeon said she did not know who Alister Jack was after he had been appointed by Boris Johnson.

The revelation came as part of an in conversation event with comedian Janey Godley to discuss her new novel.

While discussing one of the voiceover clips Godley became known for where she pretended to be Nicola Sturgeon when Boris Johnson attempted to usher her into Bute House in 2019 when he became Prime Minister, Sturgeon revealed that it was also first day she met Alister Jack. 

She said she did not know who Jack was and she first met him on the steps of Bute House.

She said: “I hadn’t met him before. I literally had no idea who he was.

“I just thought: ‘Who are you?’ “That was also the time Boris left by the back door.”

Sturgeon also revealed they had “kind of kidnapped” Jack on his first visit to Bute House in 2019.

She said: “In between him (Boris Johnson) arriving and him leaving, we kind of kidnapped Alister Jack.

“But that’s another story for another time,” she joked.

“I’ll leave that one for the memoir.”

Sturgeon, who is facing questions over her party’s financial management while she was leader and first minister, said the event was the “best therapy” she had had in a long time.

Friday’s event ended with Godley performing a special voiceover which acknowledged the “stress” Sturgeon had been under in recent weeks as a result of the police investigation into the SNP’s finances and the arrest of her husband, ex-SNP chief executive, Peter Murrell.

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