YESTERDAY a good contingent of people from Inveryess drove to Kinloss Barracks in convoy, hoping to catch a glimpse of and have a word with the Prime Minister, Britain’s very own Boris Johnson, who flew in and out of Scotland and managed to avoid being seen by any of us.

He was at Orkney first in the morning and the crowds were out there too, then he flew directly to the air base. It’s in the country, 30 miles from Inverness and a 50-minute drive, not easy to reach. We had to take separate cars due to the Covid rules, or more people would have been there. But there was no opportunity for anyone to see him, never mind speak to him. It was as we had expected, only a Tory PR exercise done for show and with no respect for the people living and voting in Scotland. 

READ MORE: Yes Orkney: Our Boris Johnson protest shows indy tide has turned

The crowd was good-natured, well-behaved, wearing masks and socially distanced, they stood outside the RAF base and waited. One man wearing a kilt played drums, others chatted. It didn’t have the atmosphere of a Yes march, although there were flags blowing in the air, European, Saltires, Yes-banners, and one Green, mostly reminding Boris Johnson we didn’t vote for him and we have no time for him.

When the police outriders arrived, we watched a black car with blacked-out windows, like the Mafia, glide in the gates and we assumed that was Johnson. Tories have caused heartache and havoc to many parts of the UK, but this man is the ultimate. His non-handling of the coronavirus outbreak, the Russia report, Cummings of the bad eyesight, an unelected advisor making major decisions for us all. Then all the lies about leaving the European Union and the trade bill recently passed that is a power grab of all devolved powers of the UK Government and the opening of a door to privatise the NHS and allowing our food standards to drop to those of the US. 

Previous Tory outrages, the hike in VAT, the punishing austerity measures, rape clause and bedroom tax (this one mitigated by the Scottish Government) and lastly the horror of Trident – there’s always money for that and it can be kept up in Scotland out of the way! We all had our own anger at this man and his hopelessly cruel and inept governance. He’s become an irrelevance to us and he knows it, but we are irrelevant to him. That’s why he hides. As one supporter, Paula Kirby, said recently, "Nothing he does or says surprises anymore but it still shocks."

He left by another exit of course. None of us saw him go but that’s how he’s known here, Back Door Boris! What a pitiful and shameful man!

Kay Frew Harris
Inverness