By Ben Kerrigan-
Michael Gove has accused Nicola Sturgeon of searching for “political conflict” during the covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021, an inquiry has heard.
The Tory minister said that messages between the then First Minister and her former chief of staff, Liz Lloyd, showed “there was a desire to pursue differentiation for the sake of advancing a particular political agenda”.
Gove said that former Finance Secretary and ex-SNP leadership hopeful Kate Forbes had been “one of the most constructive” ministers in the Scottish Government.
Lloyd had messaged Sturgeon saying she wanted a “good old-fashioned rammy” with the UK Government so she could “think about something other than sick people”.
Lloyd had also told Sturgeon she had “set a timetable” for the UK Government to answer the Scottish Government on furlough as a “purely political” move in the messages between herself and the former first minister on November 1, 2020.
Gove suggested these examples proved the Scottish Government was trying to use the pandemic for political gain.
He said: “I think that the evidence that was discussed in this inquiry last week, with the former first minister’s former chief of staff and special adviser, would lead a fair minded person to conclude that the words, ‘good old fashioned rammy’, suggest that there was a search for political conflict rather than simply a divergence in policy conclusions.”
He continued: “It is possible to have in the Scottish Government both a commitment from people who are public servants first, seeking to do their best for their fellow citizens.
“But also, given the cause to which they’ve devoted their lives, then the temptation of course to seek political advantage is clearly there.
“And I think that the language used, the desire to have ‘a good old fashioned rammy’ with the UK Government, and some of the other language used which I shan’t repeat now, does lead me to believe that at that point, there was a desire to pursue differentiation for the sake of advancing a particular political agenda.”
Gove also said Forbes was easier to work with than others.
He added: “In my experience, there were people in the Scottish Government who were sometimes much more constructive than one or two others.”
When asked who he was referring to, Gove said: “I think the person who was undoubtedly one of the most constructive was Kate Forbes.”