Jacob Rees-Mogg labels Nicola Sturgeon 'moanalot' and Scottish Government 'hopeless'

Jacob Rees-Mogg has labelled Nicola Sturgeon “moanalot” and claimed the Scottish Government is “hopeless”.

In an angry defence of the Prime Minister visiting Scotland today, the Leader of the Commons dismissed the suggestion by the First Minister the visit was not essential.

Speaking during Business Questions, Mr Rees-Mogg accused Ms Sturgeon of doing nothing but complain, while at the same time criticising her Government.

He said: "I used to think that Moanalot was a fictional character, but actually it's the First Minister of Scotland.

“All Mrs Sturgeon can ever do is moan a lot.

"She moans when distinguished royal personages visit Scotland, she moans when the Prime Minister visits Scotland, people doing their duty, doing their job.

“The visit to Livingston is something we should be proud of as a nation, visiting a vaccine factory, a factory that has made enormous strides.

“The Prime Minister is doing his job and Moanalot will have something to moan about in early February when Mr Salmond gives evidence to a committee of inquiry in the Scottish Parliament and we all find out all that is going on up north to the disadvantage of the Scottish people led by a hopeless administration.”

A spokesperson for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon dismissed his comments.

The spokesperson said: “It is comments like these which are simply helping support for independence to keep on rising.

“Jacob Rees-Mogg recently showed his contempt for Scotland’s fishing industry by mocking their plight amid the Brexit shambles he helped create – just as he showed his contempt for Parliament by lounging on the Commons benches.

“But it is he and his party, including Boris Johnson, who are increasingly regarded with contempt by people right across Scotland for their arrogance.”

Yesterday Ms Sturgeon urged Mr Johnson to think twice about his Scottish visit, branding it “non-essential”.

The First Minister called for the PM to consider whether a trip north was vital and suggested there should not be different rules for the public and politicians.

She said: "I am not and never would be saying that Boris Johnson is not welcome in Scotland – he's the Prime Minister of the UK.

“We have a duty to lead by example and if we are going to suggest that we don't take these rules as seriously as we should, it gets harder to convince other people.

"That's why I'm perhaps not ecstatic about the thought of the Prime Minister visiting.”

The SNP has claimed the Prime Minister is panicking, with opinion polls showing declining support for the union.

But Scottish Labour leadership contender Anas Sarwar branded the dispute over Mr Johnson’s trip to Scotland as “yet another manufactured row between the SNP and the Tories at a time of national crisis”.

“Both the Prime Minister and First Minister say they want to bring our country together, yet all they seem focused on is division,” he said

“They should both be entirely focused on defeating Covid. People expect their governments to work together in the national interest.”

Mr Johnson started his day-long visit by going to the Lighthouse Laboratory, which processes Covid tests, at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus in Glasgow.

He also visited a vaccine factory in Livingston, Mr Rees-Mogg told MPs.

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