SCOTTISH Health Minister Jeane Freeman has hit out at a Westminster journalist after he said the UK Government is furious with the “SNP” over the personal protective equipment (PPE) scandal.
Supplier Gompels said on Monday that it had been instructed by Public Health England to prioritise delivery to England over other parts of the UK, which Downing Street denies.
The controversy escalated on Tuesday when Gompels updated its website and repeated that the decision not to allow sales to Scotland and Wales was not made by the company.
READ MORE: PPE firm says Public Health England said to prioritise England
Taking to Twitter, BuzzFeed UK’s political editor Alex Wickman said: “Ministers furious with the SNP about the false reports from Scotland about PPE."
Ministers furious with the SNP about the false reports from Scotland about PPE
— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) April 14, 2020
Source: "The SNP are playing politics in the middle of a pandemic. They ignored their own clinicians and pushed a false narrative that had been debunked by their own national clinical director."
He added: “Source: ‘The SNP are playing politics in the middle of a pandemic. They ignored their own clinicians and pushed a false narrative that had been debunked by their own national clinical director.’”
Freeman responded with a tweet of her own. She said: So Alex two things.
“1. It is the Scottish Government that is engaged in this, not a political party.
So Alex 2 things. 1. It is the Scottish Government that is engaged in this, not a political party. 2. We are responding to legitimate concerns by a responsible organisation representing majority of care homes in Scotland. I call that doing my job. https://t.co/0Ew1YdEG12
— Jeane Freeman (@JeaneF1MSP) April 15, 2020
“2. We are responding to legitimate concerns by a responsible organisation representing majority of care homes in Scotland. I call that doing my job.”
After The National revealed the story in Monday’s edition, Professor Jason Leitch said in a BBC Scotland interview that the claim by Gompels was “rubbish”.
Later it was revealed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that the National Clinical Director was not fully aware of all the facts when gave the interview.
At Tuesday’s UK Government daily briefing, Chancellor Rishi Sunak denied that England had been prioritised, quoting Leitch.
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