BORIS Johnson has been accused of seeking to undermine the Scottish Government after he labelled it the “Scottish authority” in the House of Commons.
SNP MP Philippa Whitford told The National there was “no question” that Johnson had been aiming to weaken the position of the devolved government by likening it to a local authority or council.
The sly jab at the Edinburgh government came as Johnson clashed with SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford in the Commons.
Blackford had said, as Whitford later seconded, that the primary aim of the move to scrap all Covid rules in England was to appease Tory backbenchers, and not to protect public health.
READ MORE: Ian Blackford jeered by Tory MPs amid claim Boris Johnson is 'turning his back' on Scotland
Speaking amid Conservative jeers, Blackford said the UK Government was removing “the very safeguards which support a return to normal life”.
Deflecting from the attack, the Prime Minister said: “You wouldn’t believe it from what [Blackford] has just said, but the cooperation between the UK Government and the Scottish authority has been outstanding and will continue to be outstanding.”
The SNP’s Westminster leader made his position on the claims clear, appearing to call them “rubbish”. He has previously hit out in no uncertain terms at Johnson’s claim to have worked well with the Scottish Government and SNP MPs.
Speaking to The National, Whitford also rubbished the Prime Minister’s claims. She said the first that either the Scottish or Welsh government heard of the plan to end self-isolation was at PMQs.
“There certainly was no consultation or discussion,” Whitford added.
Asked about the Prime Minister’s use of the word “authority” to refer to the Scottish Government, the SNP MP said: “They’re obviously trying to undermine and use a local authority wording. There’s no question.”
In UK politics the word "authority" is more usually heard in relation to local councils - which will have elections in May - and is not used to refer to devolved governments.
Previously, Johnson has been admonished by the Speaker for referring to the SNP as the “Scottish nationalist party”, a deliberate mistake that was also read as an attempt to undermine the party.
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