IAN Blackford has seemingly secured a major concession from the Prime Minister after the Tory leader pledged to share all of his private communications relating to coronavirus contracts.
It came during a tense exchange in the Commons in which Boris Johnson claimed the SNP Westminster leader’s barking dog made a more “sensible contribution” than he did.
Johnson faced calls for a public inquiry at Prime Minister’s Questions following reports he personally promised Sir James Dyson he would “fix” an issue over the tax status of his employees after being directly lobbied by the entrepreneur.
The BBC said it has seen a series of text messages between the two men after Dyson was unable to get the assurances he was seeking from the Treasury.
The exchanges took place in March 2020, when the Government was appealing to firms to supply ventilators amid fears the NHS could run out.
Blackford said: “Whether it’s ‘cash for questions’ in the 90's or ‘texts for contracts’ during this pandemic – people know this is the same old story. This is how the Tories do government.
“The Prime Minister is at the very heart of this scandal … Will the Prime Minister reveal today how many more covid contracts he personally ‘fixed’?
“And if he has nothing to hide, will he publish all personal exchanges on these contracts before the end of the day?”
Johnson appeared to acquiesce to the request and rejected any suggestions of wrongdoing.
He replied: "There's absolutely nothing to conceal about this and I am happy to share all the details with the House, as indeed I have shared them with my officials immediately.
"It's thanks to that immediate action that we've been able to roll out ... to help the people of the whole United Kingdom to get access in record times to the vaccines on which we all depend."
He added: "We've had to work at incredible speed and I think the people of this country understand that it's sometimes necessary to act decisively to get things done."
Blackford, speaking remotely from his croft on Skye, again pressed the Tory leader for answers, but his question was interrupted by his barking dog Maisie.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson told Sir James Dyson he would ‘fix’ tax issue in text
He continued: “If the Prime Minister says there is nothing to see here – publish them. Let us all see them. Let’s have that transparency because frankly his excuses just don’t stack up.
“Last March, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor had all the time in the world to fix contracts for a cosy club of friends and Tory donors but didn’t have any time to support the millions of self-employed.
“Those three million people didn’t have a David Cameron or a James Dyson to text the Prime Minister for them. They were on their own and they were left behind by this Prime Minister. This Tory ‘texts for contracts’ scandal is growing more and more serious with every revelation.
“The Prime Minister was eager to initiate an inquiry into his predecessor David Cameron, will he be as quick to commit to an inquiry into himself and his own government?”
Johnson, however, insisted his government was rushed into action by the pandemic.
“In March last year the pandemic was taking off very fast and we had to act very fast as I think people up and down this country understand.”
He then quipped: “I thought that his dog just made a more sensible contribution just now than he did.”
The comment sparked hilarity in the Chamber, with Tory MPs cackling long after the remark was made.
Afterwards, Blackford posted a picture of himself with Maisie, who he said seems to “want to call out the behaviour of Boris Johnson”.
Here is the offending Maisie who seem to want to call out the behaviour of @BorisJohnson https://t.co/u82y2gEoOb pic.twitter.com/jWKgXJbLaD
— Ian Blackford (@Ianblackford_MP) April 21, 2021
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