Boris Johnson secretly wants a no-deal Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon has claimed after his first meeting with Scotland’s first minister.
The new prime minister faced a frosty reception north of the border, with Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, having warned about the impact of his Brexit policy.
He arrived at Bute House, Ms Sturgeon’s official residence in Edinburgh, to boos from a crowd of independence campaigners and pro-EU demonstrators gathered across the street.
Mr Johnson will also travel to Wales and Northern Ireland later in the week as part of a whistle-stop UK tour designed to show he is a “passionate believer” in the union.
But following talks with Ms Sturgeon, the first minister warned Mr Johnson’s government had set the country on an “almost inevitable path to a no-deal Brexit” and was “dangerous” for Scotland.
She said: “I think that this is a government that is pursuing a no-deal strategy, however much they may deny that in public.
“If he were in this room right now, he would deny this vehemently, but I think he wants a no-deal Brexit.”
Downing Street insisted the government’s preference was to negotiate a new Brexit deal, but admitted the EU was refusing to budge on the Northern Ireland backstop and said “the UK will be leaving the EU on October 31st come what may”.
A Number 10 spokesman added Mr Johnson would “work tirelessly to strengthen the United Kingdom and improve the lives of people right across Scotland”.
This live article has now ended. Here’s how we covered developments as they happened:
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, admitted earlier this morning that the government was looking at the option of imposing direct rule in Northern Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit
UK government planning for direct rule in Northern Ireland in event of no-deal Brexit
The foreign secretary and Mr Johnson's de facto deputy, said senior ministers were looking "very carefully" at whether legislation would be needed for the government to take direct control of the region.Speaking before his visit to a military base, Mr Johnson called for a renewal of "the ties that bind our United Kingdom".
"Our union is the most successful political and economic union in history.
"We are a global brand and together we are safer, stronger and more prosperous," he said.
But he could face a difficult meeting with Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, who has said she will not support a no-deal Brexit and referred to her referendum campaign TV clash with Mr Johnson.
She used a Mail On Sunday column to say: "When I was debating against the pro-Brexit side in 2016, I don't remember anybody saying we should crash out of the EU with no arrangements in place to help maintain the vital trade that flows uninterrupted between Britain and the European Union."
In an interview with BBC Breakfast, Scottish Finance Secretary Derek Mackay was sceptical of Mr Johnson's visit.
The SNP frontbencher said: "We feel that Boris Johnson is just the bluff and bluster and his premiership will just represent that, but with substantial and significant damage to the economy of the whole of the UK and Scotland.
"But if we're to have a serious conversation then he has to respect Scotland, how Scotland has voted, what our interests are, and respect what we're saying and that is to avert Brexit. And particularly a no-deal Brexit.
"That's the primary issue before us right now and it would do Boris Johnson as prime minister well to listen.
"Theresa May visited, it didn't make much difference, she didn't listen to the first minister terribly much, and maybe Boris Johnson will be different but I don't think so.
"He's even coming up to face a fight with his own party - it tells you how split they really are.
"We have tried to compromise within the UK but even the announcements today are totally unimpressive.
"They are recycled and they'll do nothing to shore up his position as he faces off the criticism even from the Scottish Conservatives."
Boris Johnson has unveiled a special Brexit cabinet committee tasked with handling the UK’s preparations for a no-deal exit from the EU – now considered the government’s “No 1 priority”.
The prime minister told his cabinet during a Sunday conference call the new group will meet daily and direct operations from the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (Cobr) – typically used by ministers for emergency responses.
It will convene for the first time on Tuesday, consist of a “tight” number of ministers and will be chaired by Michael Gove, who was tasked last week of overseeing no-deal Brexit plans in his role at the Cabinet Office.
Vauxhall’s French owners have threatened to move production out of its factory in Ellesmere Port if a no-deal Brexit makes it unprofitable.
PSA chief executive Carlos Tavares said the firm had identified an “alternative” plant in Europe to make future Astra cars “if the conditions are bad”.
His warning was issued as Boris Johnson set up a Brexit cabinet committee to prepare for crashing out of the EU without a deal.
More here:
Ahead of the meeting, Ms Sturgeon said: "The people of Scotland did not vote for this Tory government, they didn't vote for this new prime minister, they didn't vote for Brexit and they certainly didn't vote for a catastrophic no-deal Brexit which Boris Johnson is now planning for.
"Boris Johnson has formed a hard-line Tory government with one aim - to take Scotland and the UK out of the EU without a deal.
"Scotland has been ignored throughout the Brexit process and it is now time for everyone who cares about the future of Scotland to come together to chart our own course and say to the Tories - stop driving our country towards disaster."
Rory Stewart just might be the leader we need in the war against no-deal Brexit ‘by any means necessary’, writes Matthew Norman for The Independent.
He says: "Of all the potential opposition candidates in view, Stewart’s charm, brains, honesty and cross-party appeal establish him as best suited to head the hurried campaign."
Read his column here:
Opinion: Boris Johnson once called me a ‘shirt-lifter’ – decades later, has he built an anti-LGBT+ cabinet?
The prime minister’s dog-whistle politics may have got him this far with the Tory party rank and file, but it will backfire on him"It wasn't a publicity stunt, no-one had hijacked it, it wasn't Ukip stealing it and abandoning it."I've heard some great stories - unfortunately it was just a breakdown."
“Corbyn is not the leader that Labour needs at this time. He cannot deliver. Even his supporters are realising this.“We need an alternative who can stand up to Johnson and lead the country against the disaster which is in the making.”
“He has not spoken to Leo Varadkar. He has obviously spoken to a number of leaders since last Wednesday and those calls will continue in the coming days.
“He has obviously been travelling quite a lot as well but you can expect more calls… We would never tell people in advance but he will speak to lots of leaders in the coming days.”
Mr Johnson is keen to meet EU leaders but “not to sit down and be told that the EU cannot possibly reopen the Withdrawal Agreement’, the spokesperson said.
They . added: “The PM wants to leave with a deal and we hope that the EU will change their position on the withdrawal act and the backstop.”
"Introducing direct rule could have immediate and long-lasting political repercussions. It would see the UK government rolling back devolution – and a key part of the Good Friday Agreement – as part of its decision to leave the EU without a deal. Nonetheless, a responsible government would have a bill providing for direct rule in the event of a no-deal exit on the statute book before 31 October."
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Like every Conservative leader since 1955, the Conservatives have failed to win anything like a mandate to govern in Scotland. It’ll be no different for the current prime ministerHe said he had had "interesting conversations" with European leaders but admitted there was "no change in their position".
He said:
"They all know where we are, we can't accept the backstop, it was thrown out three times, it won't work, the Withdrawal Agreement as it stands is dead. I think everybody gets that.
"But there is ample scope to do a new deal, to do a new deal and a better deal.
"But at the same time it is right, as the government has said for the last three years, to prepare for no deal and we're also going to be doing that very actively and with great confidence."
