Scots sports minister mocked tennis ace "Novax" Djokovic deported over Covid status

Hannah Rodger

23 June 2024 at 3:18 am·1-min read

Novak Djokovic during his victory over Lorenzo Musetti at the French Open — -Credit: (Image: Getty)

Sports minister Maree Todd mocked Novak Djokovic on WhatsApp saying it was “good” he was to be deported from Australia over his Covid jab status.

Messages show the SNP MSP discuss a BBC news story about the tennis ace who had been planning to play in Australia during the pandemic.

The Serbian did not get the Covid vaccine and was put in an immigration detention centre for five days before being deported in January 2022. Sharing the story with a policy official on January 5 that year, Todd said “Good” while the aide said: “Yes I’m pleased about that. Enjoying everybody calling him Novax.”

The details have been revealed through an FoI request for all Todd’s Whatsapps in the pandemic in her role as a government minister.

Most released by the Scottish Government are redacted because of confidentiality.

Scottish Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie said: “Getting the SNP to comply with basic requests for transparency is a Herculean task.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Minister complied with the request from the inquiry and submitted all messages which were in scope of that request.”

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.

The Telegraph
Donald Trump is going to turn Starmer’s Britain into an international laughing stock
Grandfather Robert Blackstock, a retired engineer from Nottinghamshire, became the “Brenda from Bristol” of this election campaign when he asked Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer during Wednesday night’s TV debate: “Are you two really the best we’ve got to be the next prime minister of our great country?”
The Telegraph
Did Nigel Farage blow himself up in the BBC Question Time election special? Our writers react
It was finally Nigel Farage’s time to appear before a BBC Question Time audience this evening, more than a week after Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer had theirs. The Reform UK leader took the podium in the same hour as a Green Party representative, Adrian Ramsay. Yet only one of these men has excited reaction from our writers.
Business Insider
A grinding Russian assault appears telling about Putin's plan to defeat Ukraine
ISW's conflict experts warned that the West must "challenge Putin's belief that he can gradually subsume Ukraine."
The Telegraph
Let’s be clear where blame for this Tory disaster really lies
‘Good-morning, good-morning!’ the General said When we met him last week on our way to the line ... “He’s a cheery old card,” grunted Harry to Jack As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.
The Telegraph
Only one man has spoken for the nation in this joyless election campaign
It’s set to become 2024’s version of Brenda from Bristol’s infamous “Not another one !”
The Independent
Reform takes three point lead over Tories in shock poll
Reform has been dogged by allegations over racism, misogyny, homophobia and support for Hitler and Putin but a poll has put them three points ahead of the Tories
The Telegraph
Jill Biden has the fate of the world in her hands
Now might be a good time for Dr Jill Biden, the First Lady, to have a rummage around in the back of the wardrobe for one particular item of clothing. When Joe Biden opted against running for president in 2004, his decision was underlined by his wife’s decision to wear a halter top with the word “NO” scrawled on her stomach.
HuffPost
‘Total Nonsense’ And ‘Pure Fiction’: CNN Fact-Checker Exposes Trump’s False Debate Claims
Donald Trump’s list was “way, way longer” than Joe Biden’s, said Daniel Dale.
The Telegraph
Joe Biden cannot run again
After Thursday night’s debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, held on terms considered by many to be favourable to the current President, there is only one conclusion that it is possible to draw: Mr Biden should not run again for the US presidency in November.
Evening Standard
Anger over Keir Starmer's Bangladesh remarks as councillor quits and Labour MP candidates issue statements
Sir Keir Starmer says he didn’t mean to ‘cause any concern or offence’
The Independent
‘Are you two really the best we’ve got?’: Election summed up with excruciating question to Sunak and Starmer
Both leaders sheepish as audience loudly applauded question
The Daily Beast
Opinion: SOS to Clinton and Obama: You Can End the Biden Nightmare after That Debate
I woke up yesterday morning and started making calls.I had a 7.30 p.m. appearance on CNBC and a question to answer on a loosely floated topic: Do debates matter any more? I dialed national and local reporters, strategists, analysts, campaign veterans, winners and losers, Republicans and Democrats alike.All had the same basic answer. This far out from election day, unless there is a major gaffe or a major punch landed, it’ll be forgotten within 48 hours—maybe less, given our proximity to the July
Business Insider
Russia is losing 1,000 soldiers a day in its relentless 'meat grinder' tactics against Ukraine: report
Russian troops are being used in head-on assaults on Ukrainian positions.
HuffPost
Marjorie Taylor Greene Melts Down Over Australian TV’s Trump Question, Gets Cut Off
“What is this?” fumed the far-right Georgia Republican, who suggested the anchor was getting her “marching orders from the Democrat Party.”
Bloomberg
China Miscalculated With Europe in Backing Russia, US Envoy Says
(Bloomberg) -- Beijing misjudged the impact on its relationship with Europe when it provided support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, America’s top diplomat in China said, as ties fray between the world’s No. 2 economy and Western democracies over the conflict.Most Read from BloombergSupreme Court Poised to Allow Emergency Abortions in IdahoSpaceX Tender Offer Said to Value Company at Record $210 BillionSupreme Court Ends OxyContin Settlement, Cracking Sackler ShieldChina’s Finance Elite Face $400,0
HuffPost UK
Gillian Keegan Suggests Sky News Presenter Doesn't 'Understand Economics' In Extraordinary Spat
The pair clashed over whether or not Liz Truss caused of the jump in inflation.
The Telegraph
Why the French state pension is about to bring down Macron
Emmanuel Macron’s controversial pension reforms have loomed over his second presidential term – and could now be his undoing.
The Telegraph
Biden is a danger to the West
We think we have problems in the UK with the apparent lack of statesmen or women to run this country, but Joe Biden’s abject performance last night in the “debate” with Donald Trump is a worry not just for the US and the UK but the whole planet. What on earth will Vladimir Putin and the other evil tyrants around the globe be making of the leader of the only global superpower? The US president struggled to string a sentence together despite days of preparation, and seems to want the golf course r
The Independent
Johnny Mercer to stand down at next election blaming abuse as he reveals voter’s horrific comment to daughter
Exclusive: The veterans’ minister said if he is re-elected on 4 July he will serve just one more term, as he reveals the toll of abuse on him and his family
Reuters
Russia mulling downgrading ties with West, Kremlin says
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia is considering a possible downgrading of relations with the West due to the deeper involvement of the United States and its allies in the Ukraine war, but no decision had yet been taken, the Kremlin said on Thursday. A downgrading of relations - or even breaking them off - would illustrate the gravity of the confrontation between Russia and the West over Ukraine after an escalation in tensions over the war in recent months.

Latest stories