THE Prime Minister should hold at least four meetings each year with the leaders of the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, a think tank has suggested.

Our Scottish Future made the plea as a report examining how the different governments had worked together during the coronavirus pandemic commented on the “seemingly dire personal relationship” between Boris Johnson and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The paper, based on interviews with senior figures in both the London and Edinburgh governments, argued the close working relationships that have now been built up between health ministers across the UK need to be replicated and become a permanent feature of politics.

It insisted a “fundamental review of relations” is needed in an attempt to “examine the root causes which lay behind the failure to co-operate during the Covid crisis”.

The think tank found the “absence of communication between the UK Government and the devolved administrations reduced the opportunity for effective engagement between the centre and the nations and regions”.

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It stated: “Good crisis management relies entirely on clear lines of reporting, forums for collaboration and good information-sharing so that, even when stakeholders have different views, those differences of opinion can be aired and resolved speedily.

“This was missing entirely during a crucial part of the pandemic response – the period we had to ‘get our act together’ before an inevitable second wave.”

In the wake of the pandemic the think tank concluded that the UK Government and the devolved administrations now need to “reconstruct their relationships from first principle”.

As well as recommending that Johnson holds meetings with the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on a quarterly basis, it called for the creation of “permanent, formalised and open lines of co-operation” between the governments on shared health challenges.

Report authors Eddie Barnes and Evie Robertson said: “If we are to learn the lessons of the pandemic, avoid political turf wars, and create a truly co-operative Union, then a more formalised working relationship between the UK Government and the devolved administrations should be mapped out with urgency.

“This will not just support better governance of the next health crisis to hit the UK but will also deliver better government across the UK in every area of public policy.”