Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said the Prime Minister was “right” in his response to decline a meeting with Nicola Sturgeon.
Boris Johnson rejected an invitation from Nicola Sturgeon to meet during his planned visit to Scotland, which he embarks on today.
The First Minister had asked the Prime Minister to meet at her official Edinburgh residence, Bute House, to discuss the UK’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
However, in response, Mr Johnson said he was keen to arrange an in-person meeting with the other first ministers of the UK at a later date.
‘Quite right’
Mr Ross told the BBC’S Good Morning Scotland that he would be meeting the Prime Minister on Wednesday and Thursday.
But when asked if Mr Johnson had the right priorities, Mr Ross said the Prime Minister’s response to Ms Sturgeon was “quite right”.
He told the BBC the First Minister had agreed with Mr Johnson that the “governments across the UK would meet together”.
When asked if an impromptu meeting would be difficult to organise, Mr Ross said: “I think if Nicola Sturgeon with other First Ministers and the Prime Minister had agreed for all the leaders across the UK to come together in person, that’s an approach to take.
“As the Prime Minister said in his letter, Nicola Sturgeon’s own officials have been very constructive in arranging these meetings between the First Ministers and the Prime Minister and I think it’s right that continues.
“But there is constant dialogue between the Scottish Government and the UK Government.
I understand the PM will visit Scotland later this week. Since this would be our first opportunity to meet in person for a while, I’ve invited him to Bute House to discuss Covid/recovery. We differ politically, but our governments must work together where we can. pic.twitter.com/Fo4N4nr2oN
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) August 2, 2021
“Michael Gove is speaking to Scottish Government ministers on a weekly basis and we know the Chancellor is in discussions with Scottish Government officials and the Prime Minister.
“But when he’s up in Scotland today and tomorrow, the Prime Minister is conducting a number of visits and a number of events to continue the engagement and the working with people, businesses and sectors across Scotland.”
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.