THE Prime Minister is scheduled to come to Scotland next week amid news that the Greens and SNP will soon be putting together a joint prospectus for Scottish independence ahead of a 2023 referendum.

Boris Johnson is set to visit Scotland on Monday, The Times reports, although this could be subject to change due to the situation in Ukraine.

The Conservative leader is not going to be joined by his Scottish counterpart during the trip, reports say, after clashes between senior UK Government and Scots Tory figures.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former Leader of the House and now Minister for Brexit Opportunities – with a continued Cabinet presence – caused a major row after telling the media that Douglas Ross was a “lightweight” political figure. It came after Ross made a public call for Johnson to resign amid the partygate scandal.

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Michael Gove, the UK’s Levelling Up Secretary, was also accused of making disparaging comments about Ross after being asked about his intervention. He told the press that Ross is “in Elgin” while the national Tory chief is in London, making decisions for the UK as a whole.

Ross and his Tory MSPs have not rowed back on their calls for Johnson to resign, although none of his five MPs have publicly demanded the Prime Minister’s resignation.

Despite the tensions between the two sides of the party, Johnson’s inner circle insist that “there is no way he is allowing an important part of the United Kingdom to become a no-go area for him” – hence the decision to travel north of the Border in the coming days. At present, it is not known where Johnson would be visiting specifically.

Senior Scottish Tories sought to downplay the significance of Johnson not meeting with Ross during the visit, with one source saying: “When the Prime Minister has come to Scotland before there have been times when Douglas has been there and there have been times where Douglas hasn’t been there.”

They went on: “He is still the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and we are still the Conservative Party. There is still that fundamental difference, but as far as we’re concerned, there’s no attempt to push him away.”

It had been suggested that Johnson would be barred from attending the Scottish Conservatives’ upcoming Aberdeen party conference.

However, Johnson has been invited to speak to the group at the March event – albeit via videolink rather than in-person.

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A Scottish Tory spokesperson said he “will be invited to address [the] party conference, just as has been the case in any other year”.

Pete Wishart, the SNP's longest serving MP, joked: "‘Hi lightweights. Now let’s get out and win that election…..’ For the Scottish Tories it will be the speech from hell."