ALEX Salmond has warned Scotland to “move forward with independence now” or watch Boris Johnson scrap the Scottish Parliament.
The Alba leader made the comments as the Prime Minister’s former top aide, Dominic Cummings, claimed Mr Johnson would reverse devolution “if he could”.
Dominic Cummings made the claim in an online Q&A in an exchange with The Herald’s sister paper, The National.
Despite Mr Johnson appointing himself the “Minister for the Union”, Mr Cummings suggested his old boss was a bovine “unthinking unionist”, rather than an expert on the subject.
Asked what Mr Johnson really says about the constitution behind the scenes, Mr Cummings wrote: “He’s an unthinkign [sic] unionist. Thinks devolution/Scottish parliament was a disaster, wd like to reverse it but wont dare try.”
READ MORE: Dominic Cummings: Boris Johnson wants to reverse devolution
Responding to the claims, Mr Salmond said: “These revelations from Johnson’s one time confidante are exactly why Alba are advocating urgency of action on the constitution. There is no status quo on self government.
“Either we move forward to independence now, or the PM will take his first opportunity to reverse all the Scottish gains made over the last 25 years. We have been warned.
“Either we determine our own future or the writing is on the wall for the Scottish Parliament.”
Mr Johnson told Tory MPs last November that devolution had been a “disaster” in Scotland and Tony Blair’s “biggest mistake”, sparking a furious row No 10 tried to defuse by saying he meant the SNP’s time in office, rather than devolution per se.
In a new blog post, Mr Cummings also claimed that Mr Johnson privately admitted his becoming Prime Minister was a “ludicrous” idea three years before it happened.
However, Mr Johnson said it was no more ludicrous than David Cameron or Chancellor George Osborne leading the country.
Mr Cummings said he knew that Mr Johnson was “unfit to be PM” the day after the Leave vote for Brexit, adding: “We also knew that he knew too, since he’d told us.”
On his subscriber-only Substack blog, he wrote: “On 24 June 2016 in Vote Leave HQ, just after Cameron had resigned, Boris pulled me into the odd little room where the ‘campaign within the campaign’ was run. What now?
“Boris told me with a laugh, ‘Obviously, it’s ludicrous me being PM – but no more ludicrous than Dave or George, don’t you think?’
“I agreed and reminded him of the main elements of the deal we’d agreed with (Michael) Gove about what to do next.”
READ MORE: Boris Johnson 'told Dominic Cummings it would be 'ludicrous' for him to become PM'
Asked about the blog post, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “As I have said on a number of occasions, I don’t plan to engage with every allegation made.”
Responding to the claims about devolution, SNP MSP Rona Mackay said: “If these claims are true it is an utterly devastating revelation for the unionist cause in Scotland.
“It lays bare the undeniable threat Boris Johnson and his Tories pose towards the very future of our democratically elected Scottish Parliament – his former right-hand man makes clear they would scrap Holyrood if they thought they could get away with it.
“The Tories always hated devolution and fought tooth and nail to stop the Scottish parliament being established in the first place.
“There is sustained support for our Scottish Parliament and these revelations prove beyond all doubt that we cannot trust the Tories to protect the future of it. The only way to do so – and to protect Scotland from the Tories is by becoming an independent country and unlocking our full potential.”
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