POLICE were going to call a mission to protect Boris Johnson on his trip to Scotland “Operation Bunter” before scrapping it amid fears it could cause a diplomatic incident, it has emerged.

Insiders told the Scottish Sun that codenames are typically chosen at random, but occasionally need to be changed if they are not appropriate.

One source said it was noticed by staff that the Bunter title was “foolish”, as it was reminiscent of the fictional schoolboy Billy Bunter.

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The National:

The chubby pupil, created by Charles Hamilton for the stories set at Greyfriars School, is generally associated with greed and gluttony.

An insider told of how Operation Aeration was chosen as the new name for Johnson’s upcoming visit to Scotland, as they feared causing “some sort of diplomatic incident”.

“Several people pointed out the foolishness of calling it after a fat, posh English public schoolboy – not least given the PM is known for being a bit portly,” the source said.

“But I’m not sure moving away from Billy Bunter to a name that implies the PM is full of air is much of an improvement.”

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A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Operational names are auto-generated by computer and can be changed if deemed to be inappropriate.”

It comes as The Telegraph reports that Johnson is due to visit Scotland for the first time since January this week.

His last visit was marred in controversy as it came during a strict stay-at-home lockdown, with only essential travel permitted. Following a row over the trip he cancelled a planned journey to Scotland to help the Conservative campaign ahead of the Holyrood election.