Boris Johnson under fire over Scotland visit during 'Stay at Home' lockdown

Boris Johnson has come under fire over a planned visit to Scotland this week while strict Covid-19 travel bans and lockdown measures are in place across the country.

Boris Johnson is to visit Scotland this week

SNP deputy leader Keith Brown has said the trip north by the Prime Minister is an attempt to campaign for “the union" and flies in the face of the Scottish Government’s “Stay at Home” message.

Mr Brown also hit out at UK health secretary Matt Hancock for using his televised Covid-19 briefing this week to “campaign against independence” after he told viewers the response to Covid showed the strength of the union.

In an article for The Scotsman today, the SNP deputy leader said Mr Johnson would be forced to "bow to democracy" and allow a second referendum on independence if there was a pro-independence majority after the Holyrood elections in May.

"On Monday, we saw the UK Tory health minister Matt Hancock use a public health briefing to campaign against independence," Mr Brown states.

"The fact that the Tories feel the need to try to use these briefings to make blatant constitutional arguments shows how deeply rattled they are by the opinion polls, which say independence is clearly becoming the settled will of the people of Scotland.

"And this week, Boris Johnson is to visit Scotland in an attempt to ‘save the union’ despite Scotland’s clear Stay at Home message, and his Scottish Tory colleagues insistence that any discussion on Scotland’s future should wait."

Mr Hancock said during Monday's live televised Covid briefing the UK's vaccination programme was a "resoundingly powerful" argument for the benefits of the union.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister did not comment yesterday on reports that he was planning to visit Scotland this week.

The SNP published an 11-point roadmap to independence at the weekend. The document says a pro-independence majority in May would be a mandate for a repeat of the 2014 referendum on leaving the UK.

But Mr Brown insisted this will not take place until the pandemic has passed.

He said: "At May's election we will make the case for Scotland to become an independent country and seek a clear endorsement for Scotland's right to choose our own future."

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