Sturgeon says PM refuses to meet her because of 'fragile male ego'
29 October 2021, 17:04
Nicola Sturgeon has said Boris Johnson refuses to meet her because of his “fragile male ego”.
In an interview with Vogue, Scotland’s first minister said prime minister Mr Johnson has an "odd disinclination” to be in the same room as her.
It could make for an awkward encounter at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow next week, when the pair will actually meet.
Shortly after the interview was published today, Ms Sturgeon announced she will “co-host” an event with the PM at the conference.
In the Vogue interview, she said: “He [Mr Johnson] tends to delegate most of his interactions with the devolved governments to Michael Gove.
“That’s fine, Michael Gove and I work together well, but it’s a different approach to his predecessors’.
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“Maybe it’s just a bit of a fragile male ego. He seems to have a disinclination to be, metaphorically speaking, in the same room as me. It’s odd.”
The pair have regularly clashed since Mr Johnson became PM in July 2019.
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In August, Mr Johnson refused an offer to meet with Ms Sturgeon during a two-day visit to Scotland, which she said was “strange”.
The first minister also criticised Mr Johnson for visiting the country in January, at the height of coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
