A COMEDIAN’S claim that Scotland’s new “Stay Safe” virus messaging is “even vaguer” than England’s “Stay Alert” campaign has been branded rubbish by one MP.

As Scotland moves into phase two of its coronavirus lockdown, the Stay at Home government messaging has been taken down and replaced by the phrase: “Stay safe. Protect others. Save lives.”

When Boris Johnson announced England would be abandoning its Stay Home messaging and replacing it with a new “Stay Alert” campaign, he was widely mocked. Many people pointed out that it’s very difficult to stay alert to an invisible virus.

Matt Forde hit out at the First Minister following her Holyrood announcement on lockdown changes yesterday – claiming her new Covid-19 messaging makes less sense than Johnson’s.

He wrote: “A few weeks ago Nicola Sturgeon said she ‘didn’t know what Stay Alert means’.

“Now she’s asking Scotland to ‘Stay Safe’, which is even vaguer. Genius.”

SNP MP Stewart McDonald immediately fired back to tell him the tweet was “rubbish”.

Forde replied to say that Stay Safe is a “wish”, while Stay Alert is an “instruction”. He told him: “At best they’re just as vague. To be clear, I don’t have a problem with either, just the double standard on the reaction.”

McDonald rejected the suggestion that Scotland’s messaging is equally as vague as England’s.

“It’s perfectly obvious what Stay Safe means in the context of a virus that you can’t see,” he told him.

Deacon Blue’s Ricky Ross was also critical of Forde’s suggestion. “I think Scots folk know what Stay Safe means Matt,” he replied.

Comedian Michael Redmond pointed out more differences between the FM and Johnsons’ strategies.

“Stay Safe implies you should take precautions like social distancing, wearing a mask,” he explained. “Stay Alert implies you should be on the lookout for the virus … like it might be lurking behind a lamppost.”