Boris Johnson has been left “completely clueless about Scotland” after dismissing a former Scottish Tory MP from his Downing Street operation, the SNP claimed.
Nationalists mocked the Prime Minister for firing Luke Graham, the former Ochil and South Perthshire MP, and replacing him with Brexit cheerleader Oliver Lewis, who has no experience of campaigning against the SNP.
Kirsten Oswald MP, the SNP’s deputy Westminster leader, said: “The Vote Leave takeover of Boris Johnson’s taxpayer-funded anti-independence campaign has spectacularly backfired – and will drive up support for independence even further.
Oswald added: “By installing Dominic Cummings’ Brexit apprentice as head of the so-called Union unit, the Prime Minister is demonstrating, yet again, that he is completely clueless about Scotland.”
Downing Street found itself on the backfoot over the departure of Graham after the Prime Minister’s spokeswoman, Allegra Straton, described him earlier this week as a “valued member of staff”.
The move came in the wake of Johnson being embarrassed by Daily Record revelations that he visited a vaccine plant in Scotland last week just hours after it had been at the centre of a covid outbreak.
Number 10 said the Prime Minister believes himself to be the “voice of the majority” in Scotland who rejected independence and Downing Street’s Union unit will support him in his efforts to keep the UK together.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We don’t comment on details of personnel matters but the Union is an incredibly important focus of the Prime Minister and the No 10 Union unit will continue to support him on that.”
Asked whether No 10 was now on a war footing ahead of a battle for the Union, the spokesman said: “As the Prime Minister has said himself, he thinks all parts of the Union are stronger together and he will be and continue to be the voice of the majority of the Scottish people who voted to keep the UK together.”
