The first minister met the new prime minister for the first time since taking office on Thursday at the British-Irish Council and described their meeting as “cordial and constructive”. But he warned that under Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, relations between Westminster and all the devolved administrations had “deteriorated” and it would take more than warm words to mend ties. Politics Hub: Prime Minister holds first talks with Sturgeon and Drakeford Interactions between Ms Sturgeon and Mr Johnson have been known to be frosty, especially over SNP demands for a new independence referendum. Ms Truss described the First Minister as an “attention seeker” and did not make her usual phone call after taking the keys to Number 10. Ms Sturgeon hit back by saying Ms Truss would be “absolutely disastrous” for the economy. The first minister told reporters she had “deep and deep political differences” with Mr Sunak but had worked with David Cameron, Theresa May and “perhaps to a lesser extent” Johnson. “The test, I think, of any professional, mature political relationship between different governments is whether you are prepared and able to put … differences aside and find areas where you can work, even where you disagree, so that you can still have honest discussions and I strongly disagree,” he said. “There has been a deterioration in the relationship between the UK government and, I think, all the devolved administrations, there has been a lack of respect on the part of the UK government, which has defied the powers and responsibilities of devolved parliaments. “ The FM added: “Now, I welcome Rishi Sunak’s words that he wants to restore the relationship and do things differently, I really do, but the proof of the pudding will be in the food. “We need to see from the UK government the appropriate respect and if that is the case then I believe that if we don’t have our differences we will be able to build a good relationship.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:37 Nicola Sturgeon is ‘attention seeking’ NHS ‘close to breaking point’ Ms Sturgeon also said she told the Prime Minister her “deep concerns” about the NHS ahead of next week’s Autumn Statement, saying the service was “close to breaking point across the UK”. “It is my Government’s responsibility to manage the NHS in Scotland,” he said, “but our ability to invest in it depends on the decisions the UK Government makes. “We in Scotland are at the limit of what we can do, so we need to see from the UK Government’s decisions an injection of investment into the NHS to enable it to recover from COVID and get back on a sustainable path.” Read more: NHS faces ‘triplidemia’ as A&E waiting times soar The foreign secretary said her Westminster counterpart had not revealed what the upcoming budget statement included but “certainly made the right noises”, adding: “I hope that in a very difficult economic and fiscal environment, we will see decisions coming from the government of the UK helping to ensure the recovery of our National Health Service is not hampered.’
