BORIS Johnson decided to close schools in England after coming under pressure from Nicola Sturgeon, according to reports.
The Prime Minister was reluctant to order the shutdown despite most European countries doing so, and in the end was persuaded to do so by the First Minister, who argued the move was critical in preventing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and reducing the number of fatalities.
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It emerged yesterday that the Prime Minister’s team was said to be furious with the Scottish Government for announcing the closure of schools in Scotland days before Johnson wanted to do so.
“This is why the war cabinet is now making decisions and they only go to Cobra at the last minute, to stop Sturgeon forcing the issue,” a Tory source told the Sunday Times.
The First Minister had also come under pressure to close schools after they were shut in the Irish Republic by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on March 12.
At the time she faced questions by opposition politicians at Holyrood about why schools remained open given the close proximity children would be in to each other. She argued at the time that pupils’s handwashing would be monitored more carefully at school than they would be if schools were shut.
Sturgeon announced on March 18 all schools in Scotland would be closed from the week beginning Monday, March 23, with hubs offering lessons to children of essential workers such as doctors and nurses. Schools also closed from March 23 in the rest of the UK, but the announcement to do was made several hours later.
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There have been other differences between the UK and Scottish Government’s strategy in combatting the pandemic.
In Scotland, the First Minister took the step to ban gatherings of more than 500 people earlier than Johnson. Sturgeon announced the policy on March 12, saying that it would start on March 16, while Johnson said on March 17 mass gatherings would no longer be supported by emergency workers from the following day.
The two Governments have also differed in terms of restrictions they wanted to see placed on the construction industry.
Downing Street said construction work should continue if it can be done following Public Health England (PHE) and industry guidance, with a spokesman adding: “We urge employers to use their common sense when managing live projects and ensuring that employees can follow the Government guidance and practice safe social distancing on site.”
But the FM had appealed for construction sites in Scotland to close warning that “this is about saving lives”.
Sturgeon, who has been attending the Government’s emergency Cobra meetings, said workers continuing as normal pose a serious risk of spreading coronavirus.
Speaking at a press conference, she said: “It has been clear to me that there are still too many people across our country who are being expected to, or expecting to, go to work as normal, and this presents a serious and unnecessary risk of spreading the virus”.
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According to reports Johnson was urged at a Cobra meeting last Monday by Sturgeon, Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, Stormont First Minister Arlene Foster, her deputy Michelle O’Neill, and the Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford to close sites.
In Khan’s words: “I was overruled by the Prime Minister, who doesn’t believe construction workers should be at home.”
Johnson’s allies hit back at Khan for allowing Transport for London to reduce capacity on the tube, forcing commuting workers into close proximity.
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