Nicola Sturgeon told Boris Johnson today that he must ‘abide by all the advice’ on Scotland’s lockdown when he takes Carrie Symonds and baby Wilfred on their first family holiday in the country.
Mr Johnson, 56, his 32-year-old his fiancee and their three-month-old son are expected to go to Scotland for a ‘paternity holiday’ next week that could reportedly include some time camping.
The choice of Scotland, where the Tories are struggling ahead of next year’s Holyrood elections, marks the latest attempt by Mr Johnson’s administration to support the union and the domestic holiday industry.
At her daily press conference today, Ms Sturgeon said urged him and anyone else coming for a ‘staycation’ to follow local advice.
She said: ‘Whether it’s the Prime Minister or anyone coming to Scotland, I can’t wait for the date where I can say ”everyone come to Scotland and holiday” because we’re over the worst of this virus but right now we need to encourage everybody whether they’re living in Scotland or visiting Scotland to take great care.
‘So, whether it’s the Prime Minister or anybody else, when you’re in Scotland – and you should hopefully be doing this wherever you live – abide by all the advice.’
The trio will journey north for some family time away from No10, Mr Johnson’s first vacation wince the pandemic struck
At her daily press conference today, Ms Sturgeon said urged him and anyone else coming for a ‘staycation’ to follow local advice.
The choice of Scotland, where the Tories are struggling ahead of next year’s Holyrood elections, marks the latest attempt by Mr Johnson’s administration to support the union and the domestic holiday industry
She added: ‘If we all do that where we are then we’ve got the best chance of keeping it under control.’
Ms Sturgeon also joked she hopes the weather will be nice for the Prime Minister, who is said to be visiting with his fiancee Carrie Symonds and young son Wilfred.
She said: ‘I hope the weather stays reasonably good for him, although I cannot promise that and refuse to take any responsibility for it.’
Later in the briefing, the First Minister said she will not be able to take a holiday herself this year due to the return of the Scottish Parliament this week.
She said: ‘I’m fully occupied with what we’re doing at the moment.’
Mr Johnson and his family will journey north for some family time away from No10, his first vacation since the pandemic struck.
They are to camp for some of the trip north, according to the Sun. The POM’s official spokesman decline to confirm the report and said more details of the trip would be announced ‘closer to the time’.
But the PM will not entirely be getting away from the coronavirus battle, as his reported choice of holiday reading will keep his mind very much on the problem at hand.
The PM, a well-known classicist, is said to have chosen On The Nature of Things (De rerum natura), by the first century BC Roman philosopher Lucretius among his getaway literature.
The six-part work includes a study of the Plague of Athens, which devastated the Greek city state in 430BC, killing up to 100,000 people.
Mr Johnson and his wife-to-be last holidayed on the Caribbean island of Mustique at Christmas
Mr Johnson and his wife-to-be last holidayed on the Caribbean island of Mustique at Christmas. Since then the pandemic has struck, he himself has been hospitalised and he has become a father for the sixth time.
But his holiday comes at a time when the Government is facing a mounting crisis over plans to reopen schools to all pupils in September.
Mr Johnson told teachers today they have a ‘moral duty’ to help schools reopen next month as he faced a standoff with unions.
The PM warned it is ‘not right’ that pupils should spend more time out of the classroom, reiterating his determination for a full return when term begins.
While he was careful to praise the work done by teachers and unions to make schools ‘safe’ in time for the move, he added: ‘It is our moral duty as a country to make sure that happens.’
The intervention – on a visit to a school in Upminster – came as unions were accused of a bid to sabotage the government’s plans with a 200-item list of safety demands.
The National Education Union has provided its half a million members with a ‘checklist’ of Covid-secure measures, saying they should ‘escalate’ complaints if they are not being followed. There have also been calls for pupils to be taught on a week on, week off rota.
Fears are also mounting of a ‘bonfire of jobs’ amid warnings a third of firms are planning to lay off staff this autumn.
Shock research found huge numbers of companies expect to axe roles in the third quarter of the year as coronavirus hammers the economy.
Many of the cuts are set to come from hospitality businesses such as hotels, restaurants and cafes, as well as shops that were already on the brink before the pandemic.
The hit emerged in a survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) with recruiter the Adecco Group.
Labour demanded the government ditches plans to scrap the furlough scheme entirely from October, forcing employers to take on the full costs of staff wages again.
Meanwhile, figures released this week are due to confirm that the UK has formally entered recession – with a second quarter of GDP contracting. And official jobs data are scheduled for tomorrow.