PIERS Morgan was furious. James Cleverly said it was “pathetic”. Dan Hodges said she was “playing stupid political games”. Anna Soubry said “she should grow up”.

The “she” was Nicola Sturgeon and the “it” was the press conference the First Minister gave about the coronavirus crisis, where she explained the next steps for Scotland in responding to the outbreak.

The source of her critics’ displeasure was the timing of Sturgeon’s statement.

Apparently, there are rules of etiquette to be adhered to in how leaders of countries update their citizens about a global pandemic. By delivering her statement promptly after the Cobra meeting on Thursday, Sturgeon was deemed to have broken every rule in the book. I know the stereotype about the British being obsessed with queuing, but I’d never seen it taken to such a rabid extreme before.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Piers Morgan furious at Nicola Sturgeon press briefing

UK commentators, and some Tory MPs, were fizzing with rage that the First Minister had the audacity to not organise her diary around Boris Johnson’s. They were raging that she failed to show him due deference by not allowing him to speak before her.

The high-octane outrage gave the impression that Sturgeon had tripped Johnson up and run over his back to get to the microphone before him. In fact, the Prime Minister didn’t deliver his statement until an hour later. In response to one of my (admittedly sweary) tweets on the matter, Dan Hodges replied: “It’s a global pandemic. You feel the need to put a kilt on it, fine. We can see what you’re doing.”

It was a statement so petulant, so utterly bat-shit crazy, that it provoked Alex Massie of all people to say: “That’s bollocks, Dan.”

Can somebody put that on a T-shirt for me?

Even the more thoughtful commentators seemed to miss the point. In an otherwise excellent piece by Matt Chorley in The Times on Friday, he spoke about how the UK Government’s approach was different from that of other European countries. He then accused Sturgeon of “crassly rushing” ahead to “announce Johnson’s plan for him”.

Except, she didn’t, did she? Johnson’s plan for England is not to ban mass gatherings. The only new piece of information that Sturgeon gave that pertained to England was that the UK was now in the “delay” phase. It wasn’t exactly a spoiler. It was a move that was being widely reported and spoken of as fact before the Cobra meeting even took place.

Some commentators and social media critics didn’t appear to know that Sturgeon has given regular press conferences on the coronavirus.

They didn’t know that she has given one after every Cobra meeting. Some didn’t know that health was devolved.

Others didn’t know that Scotland’s chief medical officer was there, and that she answered questions.

Some, who evidently only watched the first five minutes of the press conference before switching off to bash out angry tweets about how uppity and disrespectful Scotland’s First Minister is, didn’t realise that the women who shared the stage with her were the chief medical officer and the Health Secretary.

That so many were under the false impression that Sturgeon had conducted a press conference about a viral pandemic without experts by her side, when the two women were right there, was telling.

So too was the triviality of the complaints from UK commentators. They weren’t annoyed that the leader of Scotland updated Scotland with new information and took questions from the press. They were annoyed that she hadn’t waited her turn. They were worried her statement had taken the shine – or surprise – from Johnson’s. They were worried about the Prime Minister’s ego and they were worried that she had stolen his big moment. How stupid. How insanely short-sighted. How pathetically insignificant.

There is an undercurrent of sexism here that cannot be ignored. We’ve seen this before with Sturgeon and other prominent female leaders. This idea that they are “too big for their boots”. Where decisiveness is mistaken for bitchiness. Where you can be the leader of an entire country, but you should still know your place.

That sexism was mixed with a degree of ignorance about Scotland, how decisions are made, and who is tasked with making them.

In what was a depressingly familiar online row, there were some notable moments. Scots Tory leader Jackson Carlaw was quick to say both Johnson and Sturgeon had conducted “relevant, measured and appropriate media conferences”.

Even Duncan Hothersall commented: “Oh settle down, Sturgeon is doing her job.”

Many are feeling anxious right now, as we brace ourselves for the disruption and heartache that we know this virus will bring.

Throughout the Brexit process we have seen intricate areas of policy that impact the lives of millions reduced to personality politics by some corners of the media. We have seen the tabloid-ification of political reporting, and our national discourse has coarsened as a result.

Johnson said in his statement yesterday that coronavirus is the biggest public health crisis in a generation. The burden of responsibility will weigh heavily on all leaders at this time.

Those who looked at the First Minister doing her job yesterday and asked why Boris Johnson’s ego wasn’t at the forefront of her mind, clearly haven’t grasped the seriousness of the situation we face.