SCOTTISH secretary Alister Jack has claimed that support for independence has “stagnated” under Boris Johnson.

He suggested this was because Johnson and the Conservative party have been “quietly” making the case for the Union every day through the UK Government’s determination to help Scotland flourish.

This is despite the fact that as of June, 86% of people in Scotland believed that Johnson was doing “badly” in his role, according to YouGov polling.

A Panelbase study published in The Times this month also found that the majority of Scots are now in support of independence, with 48% surveyed for and only 47% against, with a further 5% responding “don’t know”. 

Elsewhere, he claimed that Johnson’s “support” for Scotland “continues through measures to combat the rising cost of living”, and that the UK Government’s work in Scotland should be “nurtured and accelerated” by the next prime minister.

He then accused First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of wanting to “spend the summer wrapped in grievance” talking about independence, while saying he sorry to see his “friend” Johnson leave Downing Street.

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Responding to the Scottish Secretary’s comments, SNP MSP Joe FitzPatrick said: “Anyone who thinks Scotland wants more interference from a Tory government we haven’t voted for since the 1950s is as detached from reality as Boris Johnson himself.

“So it’s hardly surprising that Westminster’s man in Scotland – and Boris Johnson’s apologist-in-chief – wants to deny Scotland’s democratic right to choose, while undermining devolution itself by forcing more hated Tory policy on Scotland.

“The UK Government has done enough harm through the imposition of cuts to universal credit and national insurance hikes during a cost-of-living crisis.

“Only with the full powers of independence can Scotland can escape Westminster control for good, consigning Tory governments we don’t vote for to the dustbin of history.”