CHANNEL 5 has been condemned for broadcasting “uninformed drivel” about First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The SNP leader was described as a “power mad despot” during a segment on the Jeremy Vine show asking if she should be in charge of the UK’s coronavirus response.
The host complained that different “rules of six” in each of the four nations are confusing public health messages. And with the Westminster Government “tied up on Brexit”, Vine asked if it should be left to Sturgeon to oversee a UK-wide strategy.
“Kill me now if she was in charge,” replied panellist Lowri Turner – a former fashion journalist and TV presenter who now works as a nutritionist and hypnotherapist.
She continued: “I used to think she was somebody who makes clear decisions … but she’s absolutely power mad isn’t she?
“Every day she has a different outfit … and she’s stopped saying ‘we’, it’s all ‘I believe’, ‘I think’ … it’s all about her. The power has actually gone to her head.”
WATCH: Nicola Sturgeon branded a 'power mad despot' on Jeremy Vine show
Vine said the description of Sturgeon as a dictator was a “great start” to the debate.
Should Nicola Sturgeon run the UK's Covid response and decide on the rules for the whole country? There’s been different rules for the different nations, and the Westminster government’s tied up on Brexit – so should Scotland's First Minister just decide the rules for all of us? pic.twitter.com/NKNJugJS3v
— Jeremy Vine On 5 (@JeremyVineOn5) September 15, 2020
Actor and comedian Eddie Nestor, who was also on the panel, criticised First Minister for wanting to break up the Union, stating: “It doesn’t quite work like that.”
The SNP said the segment only served to increase support for a Yes vote.
A spokesperson told The National: "How embarrassing for Channel 5 and for Jeremy Vine.
"This kind of uninformed drivel only makes audiences in Scotland switch over – and actually strengthens many people’s support for independence.
"There is of course one despotic leader in Britain, Boris Johnson is preparing to break international law to force through his damaging Brexit ideology."
READ MORE: Five times the Jeremy Vine show has lost the plot on Scottish independence
Turner was offered the chance to retract her remarks when confronted by a Scottish viewer.
Linaire, from Fife, phoned the show to highlight that Turner was in no position to call anyone a despot when the UK is run by “an unelected adviser – Mr Cummings – and a man who’s willing to break international treaties”.
Turner, however, denied her attack on Sturgeon was a “low blow”. She instead claimed the FM’s “management style” is “my way or the highway”, adding: “If you like being ordered about, go ahead, I personally don’t like being ordered about – luckily, she doesn’t run my county.”
The segment also outraged Scottish Tory MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston, who objected to the question about Sturgeon leading the UK response being asked.
He tweeted: “This is just lazy 'journalism' which completely ignores the actual picture on the ground in Scotland – 2000 care home deaths, repeated failures on care home testing, a vote of no confidence called in the education secretary, issues with PPE etc. Try harder, @theJeremyVine.”
A spokesperson for Jeremy Vine show said: “The Jeremy Vine programme debates topical issues and this segment discussed the confusion around different Covid protocols across the United Kingdom. There was a balanced view represented during the segment.”
READ MORE: Jeremy Vine show insists 'despot' segment about Nicola Sturgeon was 'balanced'
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