BORIS Johnson has to do some “real work” on his trip to Scotland this week, or risk breaking coronavirus laws an MP has said
Alistair Carmichael, Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland said the Prime Minister must not just “stand around for staged photoshoots” on his visit, thought to be scheduled for Thursday.
The MP said Mr Johnson could be breaking the coronavirus rules, which state that travel is only permitted for essential purposes, including work, if he does not have a good reason for coming to Scotland.
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Last year the PM visited Mr Carmichael’s constituency in Orkney and visited fishermen displaying their catch of local crabs.
Since then, some of those he visited said they had been let down by Mr Johnson and the Brexit negotiations, along with many others in the fishing industry.
Mr Carmichael said: “The current guidance is clear that people should not travel except for essential work. If the Prime Minister is intending to travel then he had better have a real reason and some real work to do - not just staged photoshoots.
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"When the Prime Minister came to Scotland last summer, he posed for the cameras with Orkney crab and promised good times ahead. If he's determined to visit again, he should meet with those same producers to apologise for breaking his promises and wrecking their access to vital European markets.”
The MP added: “Ronald Reagan famously said that the scariest words in the English language were “I am from the government and I am here to help you.’
“For those of us making the case against separation the Prime Minister making a day trip of this sort has a similar ring.
“Bungling Boris Johnson has been consistently the most effective recruiting sergeant the nationalists could dream of. If he wants to change that perception then he could start by treating his title as Minister for the Union a little less like a punchline."
Downing Street has been contacted for comment.
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