Nicola Sturgeon called Boris Johnson a clown, UK Covid inquiry hears

Then first minister criticised PM's utter incompetence' in WhatsApp exchange with chief of staff

Nicola Sturgeon described Boris Johnson as a fucking clown" as he broadcast to the nation to announce a second Covid lockdown in October 2020, telling her chief of staff: His utter incompetence in every sense is now offending me on behalf of politicians everywhere."

The former first minister's damning verdict on the UK government's communications strategy - which she dismissed as awful ... we're not perfect but we don't get nearly enough credit for how much better than them we are" - was revealed during evidence at the UK Covid inquiry, which is sitting for a second week in Edinburgh.