Nicola Sturgeon has said she found it “incredulous” the Prime Minister and Chancellor did not attend a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee called to discuss the the surging tide of covid infections.
The First Minister took to Twitter on Sunday evening to express her frustration Boris Johnson is ignoring pleas from devolved governments and scientific advisers to go into lockdown to stop the spread of the Omicron variant.
She tweeted: “As infections soar and businesses suffer, we still need much more urgency in action and support from UK Gov - so that devolved government’s hands (are) not tied.
“To that end, it was disappointing and frustrating that neither the PM nor the Chancellor attended this evening’s COBRA.”
Sturgeon has been demanding additional funding for the hospitality industry which would allow her to impose stricter restrictions on social gatherings in Scotland.
Johnson is reluctant to introduce further covid measures after a 100-strong Tory rebellion in the Commons against restrictions re-introduced in England.
But in a signal a UK-wide circuit-breaker is being considered last night, the Treasury announced it was doubling the covid funding for the Scottish Government to £440 million on top of their Autumn Budget 2021 funding.
Sturgeon immediately disputed the figure.
She tweeted: “Before we get spin on ‘doubling’ the £220 millionannounced last week was not new or additional (it was actually £48m less than we had been expecting). Seeking confirmation if this new £220 million is additional and if it has to be repaid” & if it has to be repaid.”
After the Whitehall meeting chaired by Cabinet Minister Steve Barclay a spokesman for the First Minister relayed her anger at the Prime Minister.
The official said: “The First Minister was utterly incredulous to discover neither the Prime Minister nor the Chancellor were on today’s COBR call. That is three COBR calls in succession that they have not attended.
“We need more urgency, greater clarity and faster action from the UK. The need is real and the need is now. In the face of the clear advice of public health experts, it is impossible to understand why the UK still refuses to act.”
As a further 82,886 Covid-19 cases were recorded in the UK on Sunday Sajid Javid, the UK Health Secretary, refused to rule out further measures against the surging tide of infections.
Sajid Javid said scientific projections of the number of hospitalisations and figures showing one in ten NHS staff could be absent from work were giving Ministers serious cause for concern.
The government’s Sage committee warned hospitalisations could peak at between 3,000 and 10,000 a day unless action is taken.
Javid told The Andrew Marr Show: “It’s a very sobering analysis. We take it very seriously.”
Further restrictions are needed within days to stop hospitals being overwhelmed by the surge of Omicron, according to senior government scientists.
When it was suggested to Javid he was not ruling out a circuit-breaker or new restrictions before Christmas, he said: “There are no guarantees in this pandemic, I don’t think.”
The measures could mean a return to a ban on indoor mixing and hospitality once again being outdoors only.
While further restrictions could be introduced without any great political controversy in Scotland, Boris Johnson would face massive opposition from Conservative MPs trying to get any more measures through the Commons.
Last week Johnson was humiliated when nearly 100 MPs voted against limited measures.
Pressure on the Prime Minister over Covid curbs was intensified by the shock resignation on Saturday night of the Brexit minister, David Frost who made clear that his objection to the measures put in place last week was one of the reasons for his departure.
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