SNP blamed for leaking location of Boris Johnson's holiday cottage in Scotland

The road to Applecross: Boris Johnson and his wife and son were staying near the village in Wester Ross but left their holiday home after its location was leaked. PIC: CC/Brian Gillman.

The Prime Minister, who was staying near Applecross in Wester Ross with his wife, son and dog, left the cottage after three nights after the location was made public.

Security advisers instructed Johnson and his family to move on after pictures of the property appeared in the Daily Mail.

Senior Tories claimed that SNP figures were behind the leak with Ian Blackford, leader of the SNP at Westminster and MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, which includes Applecross, forced to deny he had anything to do with the information being made public.

“To blame the SNP for this is classic deflection from a Prime Minister who is under attack for his shambolic Government,” Mr Blackford posted on Twitter this morning.

He added: “It was not the SNP who told the Daily Mail and for what is worth so many folk in the Highlands told me they knew where the PM was.

“And just for the record, I was not informed by Number 10 that the Prime Minister was in Ross, Skye and Lochaber.”

In a further report, Mr Johnson was accused by farmer Kenny Cameron of setting up a bell tent in his field and lighting a campfire without permission.

Mr Cameron told the Daily Mail that the Prime Minister and his wife appeared to have been climbing over his fence to reach the tent, instead of using the gate.

He said: “”Mr Johnson is meant to be leading the country and yet he is not setting a great example.

"Usually if people want to go inside a fenced area, they ask for permission first, but I was not asked at all. It is only polite to ask.

"He could have put his tent up in the garden of the cottage and there would have been no problem – but he didn’t do that.

"He could easily have damaged the fence by climbing over it as a short cut.

"There is a gate a little way up and they could just have used that.”

Pictures printed by the newspaper show Mr Johnson’s minders taking down the tent after the Prime Minister left the area.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director