The reality here is that this is about outcomes. Other than making plebs and journos feel powerful, do you want to decapitate the Scottish public health service in the middle of a crisis which changes multiple times within a day?

Let her stay and sack her after it all calms.

Folk won’t feel so righteous about her going to the Neuk when they’re burying their ma

Like Johnson, Hancock, sundry other Westminster politicos, Johnsons dad, prince Charles and his retinue, etc etc – all of whom have directly caused harm – whereas this has not.

Do the comparison.

I don’t even see the purpose of bringing these other people up other than trying to excuse the cmo’s behaviour through schoolyard-esque “But, but he did it first sir”. Each case considered on their own merits and in this case, the top person, figurehead and public face of the fight against coronavirus in Scotland blatantly went against her own guidance potentially undermining governments ability to tackle the crisis.

For the outraged, here’s some more for you (from FB)…

EDIT: may be old pic, Can’t find original.

Jesus wept.

There are some people on here who clearly cannot countenace the idea that Scotland can do things worse than down south.
The reason she was put up to speak to the public was because she is not a politician. aka Someone You Can Trust.

The health minister in New Zealand was caught driving to a bike ride. He got a ticking off and remains in post.

imnotverygood
There are some people on here who clearly cannot countenace the idea that Scotland can do things worse than down south.

No. There’s people on here wondering why there’s one rule for anyone connected with the independence movement and another for the rest of the political world.

It’s guidance, not law. Personal judgement and discretion is what you are supposed to use.

Ummm. So you see this as just an attempt to belittle Scottish Independence. Really?

For the outraged, here’s some more for you…

Is that kosher? There’s no date on it, I can’t find it on any credible source. Seems a very odd thing to break the rules and then post it on twitter using your MSP “work” account.

Personally, I’d not be taking any action of any kind against the CMO until the ‘medical aspects’ of this crisis are more or less over.

Is the CMO connected to Scottish Independence? I’ve no idea on her views in that regard. I just thought she was likely the best person for that job and was appointed on merit.

Is that kosher? There’s no date on it, I can’t find it on any credible source

It’s for real. From last weekend.

Did you miss the bit where I said she was stupid to do it?

No, I didn’t miss that. It’s not an answer to the question that I asked you, though.

Nuke – the point is the same people who are manufacturing the outrage against the CMO will not create the same about Johnson and Hancock – who actually behaved far worse and caused real harm

Thank you OOB – IIRC you are no fan of the SNP but you can still see the truth here

Where are the calls for Johnson to resign – he said he deliberatly did not follw the advice and not only caught covid but then passed it around others – while refusing to allow the staff in the HOC to have any protection or to take leave.

NSFW but well funny

If this lady can still do her job 100% as good as she has reportedly been doing then I take my hat off to her, most folk will have this “mistake” playing on their mind constantly probably not sleeping well , loss of libido I bet , and like Cher singing to themselves If I could turn back time. Maybe she is hard as nails and just turns the other cheek

We were planning going to Girvan next weekend but that’s now on hold

PMSL

redmex
Member

If this lady can still do her job 100% as good as she has reportedly been doing then I take my hat off to her

Trouble is, she can’t… Because part of her job was to be listened to, and now regardless of anything else she does, less people will listen. And no way to fix that.

But the expertise side is all still there. I’d assume she has a deputy who should be ready to stand in at short notice in case she, frinstance, gets coronavirus but that’s still disruption.

I think maybe “I will remain as an advisor while this crisis continues and will then step down” might not be a bad response.

epicyclo
Subscriber

When the photographer who tailed her to get the photo also gets a reprimand from the Scottish police, I’ll agree with you.

He was working.

any of you putting the boot in care to address why you didn’t on this aspect

That’s been covered up there ^^^ by @nuke but to regard my open question of whether it casts any doubt over the official line of ‘stay at home, do not leave unless blah blah blah’ as: ‘putting the boot in’, is, IMHO, a tad exaggerated.

Or am I, like you, being a little bit delicate? 😉

She has handed in her resignation

Had to happen. Blame the media if you want but she had become a bigger story than the virus.

I think the media and political culture are in good part to blame.

Druid you imply you think the resignation was necessary?

I agree. Inevitable.

She resigned through embarrassment.

Big and daft – so its OK for the press to break the rules in your book?

This is a nuanced issue, was it in the public interest to show that the CMO wasn’t doing what she was telling everyone else to do? Are people allowed to go to work if they can’t do it at home? Restricting the press because they report inconvenient facts is a murky path, well trodden by regimes that don’t like what a free press say

Now come on – where is the outrage about Johnson and the rest of the plague marys in cabinet who flaunted the guidance and actually spread the disease around? where is the outrage about Charles who knowing he had symptoms moved himself and his retinue into a small rural community?

I thought this was a thread about the CMO? Haven’t seen any pics of the glad handing, yep the royals shouldn’t have moved Charles, at least they only did it once and didn’t lie about it.

I also really appreciate all the self righteous virtue signallers who clap the key workers and then pop round to a mates house or take a trip to malham cove, or go to their holiday home every weekend…….. just like the CMO

Inevitable she had to go.. but I can’t help thinking ‘What on Earth was she thinking?’. Ignoring the implications of disobeying the very guidance she’s giving out: Her face in on the tv several times a day. She goes to a small village where everyone is going to recognise her and wanders about openly. How could she think she would get away with it? What a daft end to a career.

In 3 months time let’s hope that we’ve forgotten this person and we’re all riding bikes freely.

In 3 months time let’s hope that we’ve forgotten this person and we’re all riding bikes freely.

Amen (secular) to that – and to hoping Boris makes it through unscathed (medically), though a good old scare along the way would’t do his attitude any harm

Seems to me that she had to quit – I wonder why she didn’t immediately (and suspect it was someone stupidly suggesting she sit tight and see what happens with the reaction).

Boris shaking hands with everybody – equally stupid, hugely more likely to spread virus than a family trip to the holiday home.
However:
Man’s a sideshow and everybody knows it. Nobody’s seriously looking to him for advice. On that basis, he’s just being big, daft, chummy old Boris and this in particular won’t be his problem. They’ll dump him before this time next year though, and probably a lot sooner IMO

Hancock – what’s he done ? (I realise that can be asked in an insulting way, too and that’s resonable). Has he failed to follow govt advice ? He’s definitely muddied it from time to time but that’s different to flouting it and again, consistent for him in general

Matt Hancock should also go/fall on his sword for failing to take his departments advice.

scaredypants
Subscriber

Hancock – what’s he done ? (I realise that can be asked in an insulting way, too and that’s resonable). Has he failed to follow govt advice ? He’s definitely muddied it from time to time but that’s different to flouting it and again, consistent for him in general

Still coughs/sneezes onto his hands for one (and sat all teh way through PMQs doing it while colleagues stared daggers at him). Got filmed coughing into his hand then wiping it on his arse, <after> being diagnosed with corona…

Hancock – didn’t follow the advice and got Corona as a result and then spread it around.

Be better with Tony Hancock than that balloon.

Simple replacement would be to get Jason Leitch in to do her daily update, he speaks really well, and keep her in her job behind the scenes. Too late for that now.

Looking like a poor political judgement now. Is Sturgeons touch deserting her?

Did Nicola Sturgeon appoint her? Is she a direct report to Sturgeon?.

There are some people on here who clearly cannot countenace the idea that Scotland can do things worse than down south.

Good to see that we have equity between barrel scraping both North and South of the border.

The reason she was put up to speak to the public was because she is not a politician. aka Someone You Can Trust.

Or not as he case turned out!

She was the best person for the job and it is a massive loss. However she had to be credible and her actions have completely destroyed her credibility. No one can be certain that Catherine Calderwood practices what she preaches.

Best of luck to Dr Gregor Smith deputy cmo who is stepping up

Shame that a silly mistake costs the country the best person for that job.

I hate the press, but she gave them rope to hang her with.

Shame that a silly mistake costs the country the best person for that job

She deliberately flouted the official advice she is responsible for delivering, which is designed to avoid spreading an illness that has locked down the country and can kill people. She didn’t just do it once, she went off for a wee break to her second home two weekends in a row.
You have to be incredibly generous to class that as a “silly mistake”, and if she didn’t understand the consequences of what she was doing, or simply didn’t care about the consequences, that might suggest she’s not actually the best person for the job.

Did seem inevitable. If she’d popped up for a few hours to secure the property then maybe it’d be different. A couple of trips with the family in tow is just bonkers.

Gregor Smith’s tweet from Saturday is poignant.