Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon’s stand-off risks lives – The Yorkshire Post says

Yet the PM’s rare journey north of the border, presumably prompted by polls pointing to resurgent support for Scottish independence, would have been more meaningful if it had included socially distanced talks with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

And the fact that this is not the case – who can forget their frosty photo-call outside Bute House in Edinburgh days after Mr Johnson became PM in July 2019? – reveals a regrettable absence of magnanimity at this time of national sorrow.

It was clear that Ms Sturgeon didn’t want to welcome the PM as she criticised the trip’s validity at a time when non-essential travel is forbidden while the Tory leader, in turn, had no intention of meeting an individual who he regards as an opponent.

But such posturing, ahead of Scottish Parliament elections that will frame the next phase of the independence struggle, serves as a real distraction from serious questions – on both sides of the border – about the pandemic.

After all, the work of the NHS, and now the vaccine rollout programme, transcends the internal borders of the United Kingdom and all leaders would be advised to focus on the here and now, namely the suppression of Covid, before choosing now to trigger future constitutional battles.

As such, they should take their lead from the fine example set by the English and Scottish NHS ambulance services last weekend when they joined forces to save lives after a surge in emergency cases. If only the same could be said about their respective leaders whose unedifying power struggle fails those they purport to serve.

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