NICOLA Sturgeon has said she was "profoundly shocked" to learn of alleged remarks made by Boris Johnson that he would rather see "bodies pile high in their thousands" than order a new lockdown.

The explosive remark is said to have come after he reluctantly imposed the second lockdown in England, sources told the Daily Mail.

Asked about the reports by journalists this morning, the First Minister said she was appalled by the remarks, if true.

She said: "I feel a combination of being shocked, profoundly shocked at any suggestion that was said, but also, on some level, not being that surprised.

"I don't know if he said it because I wasn't there, but based on my experiences of him I don't find it impossible to believe.

"On the contrary, it is all too believable."

She continued: "For any Prime Minister, for any human being, to be so glib and crass about human life, is profoundly shocking. 

"I can only speak for myself, as First Minister over the past years I can't begin to tell you the hours I've spent lying awake at night worrying about the impact of the decisions we're taking, about whether we're doing enough to save lives and what the impact of all of that was having on businesses.

"This has been a profoundly serious situation that we've all faced and I think it will upset and shock everybody to hear the very suggestion that a Prime Minister may have said something like that." 

Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, called this morning for the Prime Minister to resign if the remark was true and to come to Parliament urgently to give a statement and face questioning, on allegations of Tory sleaze.

The PM allegedly made the remark after Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove warned Johnson that soldiers would be needed to guard hospitals overrun with Covid victims.

Johnson agreed to fresh restrictions but his frustration is said to have boiled over after the crucial meeting at No 10 in October. "No more ****ing lockdowns – let the bodies pile high in their thousands!" he is alleged to have raged.

The disclosure comes amid a spectacular public war of words between him and his former chief of staff Dominic Cummings.

Cummings is expected to use his appearance before a Commons committee next month to challenge the Prime Minister’s handling of the pandemic.

He tweeted over the weekend that the failure to introduce travel bans more quickly was "a very important issue re: learning from the disaster".

Downing Street last night strongly denied the Prime Minister made the comment, insisting it was "just another lie". But those who say they heard it stand by their claim.

According to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation, 127,417 people in the UK have died from Covid, the highest number in Europe.

Italy has the second highest death toll of 119,021 and in France the death toll is 102,031, according to the WHO.

This morning Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the reports were "not true".

Speaking to Sky News, the Cabinet minister said: "Look, it is not true, it has been categorically denied by practically everyone.

"We are getting into the sort of comedy chapter now of these gossip stories - unnamed sources, by unnamed advisers talking about unnamed events.

"None of this is serious. The Prime Minister has been utterly focused on delivering, alongside Cabinet colleagues, the response to Covid."