New 'stay alert' message from UK government labelled as 'nonsense' by Ross, Skye and Lochaber MP Ian Blackford, and branded 'dangerously ambiguous' by Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP Drew Hendry

HIGHLAND MPs have branded a possible change in official Covid-19 advice as "dangerously ambiguous" and "buffoonery".

The Prime Minister will give a speech at 7pm on Sunday, during which he is expected to set out details of the next stage in the fight against the Covid-19 coronavirus.

But, ahead of that speech, a change in UK government messaging about the virus sparked controversy online late on Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

Until now, the UK government has been as pains to stress the message: "Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives".

But late last night a potential revision emerged, which called on the public to "Stay alert, control the virus, save lives".

The change sparked criticism online, with some Highland politicians among those to criticise the "vagueness" of the message, as well as the idea of "staying alert" to something which is invisible to the naked eye.

Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP Drew Hendry, writing on Twitter, labelled it: "Dangerously ambiguous. What does 'Stay Alert' mean in practice then?" and urged people to continue to "Stay Home, Save Lives".

And Ross, Skye and Lochaber MP, Ian Blackford added: "#stayalert. What kind of buffoon thinks of this kind of nonsense? It is an invisible threat. Staying alert is not the answer #StayHomeSaveLives is."

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