Sturgeon: I didn’t know who Scottish Secretary Alister Jack was
Nicola Sturgeon has revealed she did not know who Alister Jack was when she first met him in 2019.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has revealed she did not know who the Secretary of State for Scotland was when she first met him.
Ms Sturgeon told an audience at the Aye Write book festival in the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow on Friday evening she did not know who Alister Jack was after he had been appointed by Boris Johnson.
The revelation came as part of an in conversation event with comedian Janey Godley to discuss her new novel.
Ms Sturgeon and Godley discussed one of the now infamous voiceover clips Godley became known for where she pretended to be Nicola Sturgeon when Boris Johnson attempted to usher her into Bute House in 2019 when he became Prime Minister.
Ms Sturgeon said she did not know who Mr Jack was and she first met him on the steps of Bute House.
She said: “I hadn’t met him before. I literally had no idea who he was.
“I just thought: ‘Who are you?’
“That was also the time Boris left by the back door.”
Ms Sturgeon also revealed they had “kind of kidnapped” Mr Jack on his first visit to Bute House in 2019.
She said: “In between him (Boris Johnson) arriving and him leaving, we kind of kidnapped Alister Jack.
“But that’s another story for another time,” she joked.
“I’ll leave that one for the memoir.”
Ms Sturgeon, who is facing questions over her party’s financial management while she was leader and first minister, said the event was the “best therapy” she had had in a long time.
Friday’s event ended with Godley performing a special voiceover which acknowledged the “stress” Ms Sturgeon had been under in recent weeks as a result of the police investigation into the SNP’s finances and the arrest of her husband, ex-SNP chief executive, Peter Murrell.