CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak has been told to “cut the bluster” and “cough up” after he ruled out extending the furlough scheme during his visit to Scotland yesterday.

SNP MP Stephen Flynn said the Tories were “sticking their heads in the sand” and ignoring the real danger to the livelihoods of thousands of workers across the country.

Flynn said: “In the midst of a global pandemic the Tories are pulling support from thousands of businesses across the country and putting the livelihoods of workers at risk.

“A series of warnings about mass redundancies caused by this premature end to the furlough scheme have sadly fallen on deaf ears – with the Chancellor and this Tory Government continuing to stick their heads in the sand.

“My Aberdeen constituency is reeling from the impact of the oil price crash, with many businesses now also having to shut their doors once again – but this Tory Chancellor simply doesn’t seem to care.

“During his fleeting visit to Scotland, it’s time for the man in control of Westminster’s purse strings to cut the bluster and commit to an extension of the furlough scheme for Scottish businesses.

“It’s time for Sunak to cough up, or pass Holyrood the powers to get on with the job ourselves.”

Meanwhile, the Chancellor has been accused of showing “complete disregard” for island locals after reportedly skipping the queue for the ferry to Bute, with three cars. SNP councillor Rhiannon Spear reported that Rishi Sunak’s move had left locals to wait for the next boat as he took priority.

Sunak visited Peak Scientific in Glasgow, which manufactures gas generators for analytical laboratories, before heading off to the Isle of Bute.

Sunak’s Scottish visit means he is the fourth minister to visit in recent weeks following Boris Johnson’s instruction for Cabinet members to be more visible north of the Border.

Spear tweeted this morning to say she had heard the Chancellor might be visiting and would “get the welcoming committee together”.

Later on she tweeted reports of the queue skipping. The councillor said: “So @RishiSunak drives straight onto the Wemyss Bay ferry, skipping the queue leaving many locals to wait for the next boat as his THREE cars got priority. Already off to a bad start.”

She added: “Complete disregard shown for Bute locals as @RishiSunak gets THREE cars to skip the queue at Wemyss Bay leaving many cars to wait for the next boat. Meanwhile he goes on foot!?! He should have got chips at the café + waited in the queue like everyone else!”

Due to the Covid-19 situation, CalMac ferries require those travelling in cars to remain in their vehicles during the crossing from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay.

According to the company this allows them to “maximise capacity on our ferries while implementing social distancing”.

The National understands that, en route to Rothesay, Sunak left his vehicle and entered the ferry as a foot passenger, while the cars he was travelling with boarded separately.

However on return from Bute, a source said Sunak boarded in his car and then left it to enter passenger accommodation.

The National was told this was a police request due to a protest taking place at the port.

There were reports that residents were unhappy on local Facebook groups, while one Scottish Parliament staffer called Sunak’s behaviour “very entitled”.

Writer and journalist Angela Haggerty, who is fro Bute, said: “Locals are raging that @RishiSunak got straight on to the ferry when they sometimes have to wait for hours because of limited capacity. Raging!”

While he was in Scotland, Sunak also claimed that now is not the time to discuss Scottish independence and said new fiscal powers for the Scottish Parliament should be decided in a “proper way” through a review of the fiscal framework.