Nicola Sturgeon tells Boris Johnson to hold first Cobra meeting since May

Prime minister Boris Johnson (right) with health secretary Matt Hancock. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA.

“Let’s just pause and reflect on that, Cobra has not met since the 10th of May and we are facing the biggest health, economic and social crisis since the Second World War.”

Asked when was the last time he had spoken to the prime minister, he told James O’Brien: “On the 10th of May.”

The presenter added: “And you have not had any personal contact with Boris Johnson since the 10th of May.” He replied: “No, No.”

He added: “By the way, I speak as somebody who has been to many Cobra’s with many prime ministers, you do leave at the door the party politics, honestly it is a grown-up conversation, and people are tested and challenged.”

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon called on Johnson to hold a meeting within the next 48 hours.

She said: “We are facing the risk again of exponential growth of Covid. nobody wants to see another full scale lockdown so right now follow the rules.”

Nicola Sturgeon calls on Boris Johnson to hold first Cobra m

She added: “We are on a similar trajectory to France, maybe four weeks behind, but we shouldn’t accept the inevitability of following that path.”

“I think we need to consider what we need to do to to interrupt this and break it. I do want to have four nation discussions around this. I asked the prime minister to consider convening a Cobra over the weekend so that we can have those discussions.”