BORIS Johnson does “not get” climate change and rejected giving Nicola Sturgeon a job at the COP26 climate conference in a display of “playground politics”.

The Scottish Government was also accused of “behaving disgracefully” in contracting buildings that should have been used by the UN-sponsored summit and that No 10 had engaged in “dark ops” during the process.

The series of blistering allegations have been aired by Claire Perry O’Neill, who was sacked as President of the global event last week on Brexit Day.

The former Environment Minister commented on suggestions that the Prime Minister was considering moving COP26, the UK’s biggest summit ever, to an English location because of rising costs.

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“One of things you would have hoped to have organised by now is an absolute firm location. The PM himself chose Glasgow, which is a wonderful site and the City Council have been absolutely amazing.

“I have not been party to the numbers in the negotiations but I am told by those involved that the original analysis was hundreds of millions of pounds off track, that the Scottish Government has absolutely behaved disgracefully and has been contracting buildings from the COP site, which should be available to the conference.

“There is a complete stand-off,” Ms O’Neill told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“My suggestion was the First Minister- Scotland has a great track record - should be involved…I suggested the way to proceed is we need everybody in. The playground politics, the yahboo of this has got to stop. I did suggest that we give Nicola Sturgeon a job and she was involved in this, which the PM heartily and saltily rebutted.”

The former COP26 President made a personal attack on Mr Johnson, saying: "My advice to anybody to whom Boris is making promises - whether it is voters, world leaders, ministers, employees or indeed to family members - is to get it in writing, get a lawyer to look at it and make sure the money is in the bank."

Ms O’Neill’s comments threaten to overshadow the PM’s keynote speech today outlining the Government plans for the COP26 summit in Glasgow this November.

In the speech Mr Johnson will urge other countries to follow the UK's lead in setting targets to cut their emissions to net zero - with major cuts to greenhouse gases and any remaining pollution offset by measures such as planting trees.

But Ms O’Neill complained that the UK was “miles off track globally of where we need to be”.

She stressed how she had spent two years to trying to build up an action plan but “we have seen a huge lack of leadership and engagement”.

Ms O’Neill continued: “Emissions are running away and what we need to do with this COP is absolutely double down on taking our great leadership and ambitions in this space and really energising the world as to why this is a great opportunity. And to date that has been a lonely place to come.

“The PM has made incredibly warm statements…He has admitted to me he does not understand it…He really doesn’t get it is what he said; others around him do.”

There have been suggestions that Ms O’Neill was sacked because she had underperformed at the World Economic Summit in Davos and had declared the Paris Agreement dead.

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The former minister said she could not comment on the “No 10 dark ops” and bemoaned the “negative, defamatory briefing” against her. She insisted her desire to get things done had not been comfortable for some people.

But Michael Gove rejected her claims that the Government had shown a lack of leadership on the issue of climate change.

The Cabinet Office Minister and a former Environment Secretary, told Sky News: "The Cabinet has discussed climate change. The very first item on the agenda in the new year when the Cabinet met was the conference in Glasgow in November.

"We have been working hard in order to ensure we do three things - that Britain sets an example. The Prime Minister is explaining today alongside David Attenborough some of steps we are taking like, for example, banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2035.

"The second thing is making sure countries come together and live up to their promises to reduce carbon emissions and the third thing is extending the range of things that we do to deal with this so it is not just about transport and energy," he added.

Ms Sturgeon said the priority for the COP26 summit is tackling the climate crisis rather than her relationship with Mr Johnson.

She tweeted on Tuesday: “To be clear – @scotgov wants #COP26 to be a success & will play our full part in making it so. It’s not about Boris Johnson or me – it is about tackling the climate crisis.

“My commitment is that political differences will not stop me and my government working to make it a success.”