BORIS Johnson has denied politicising the coronavirus crisis to boost the Union as he insisted the whole of the UK "can bounce back stronger together".
The Prime Minister suggested there are only "superficial" political and presentational differences between his approach to tackling Covid-19 and Nicola Sturgeon's.
He made the comments while visiting RAF Lossiemouth during a whistlestop tour of northern Scotland amid rising support for independence.
Earlier, Ms Sturgeon accused him of "crowing" about the Union.
The First Minister said: “I don’t think any of us should be championing and celebrating a pandemic that has taken thousands of lives as an example of the pre-existing political case we want to make."
Asked if he is politicising the crisis, Mr Johnson said: "Of course not.
"It's very, very important to look at the way the whole of the UK can bounce back stronger together."
READ MORE: Sturgeon attacks Johnson for 'crowing' about the Union amid Covid deaths
He later added: "It’s not a remotely political point, I just happen to think that’s the best way to do things and I think it’s a great thing for our country.
"When you strip away some of the rhetoric, beneath it the UK is dealing with the crisis in a way that is very uniform across the whole of the country and we’re going to get through it together."
Mr Johnson earlier rejected calls for a second vote on Scottish independence as he said Covid-19 has shown the UK as a "fantastically strong institution".
On a visit to Orkney, he said the strength of the UK has been critical in the response to coronavirus.
He also spoke of his desire to "build back better" after the pandemic.
Later, at RAF Lossiemouth, he said: "What came home to me today is how we as one country can bounce back stronger together, through growth deals and through ensuring we get through a crisis that is not only medical but also, I'm afraid, economic."
Asked why Scots favour Ms Sturgeon's handling of the coronavirus crisis, he said: "Let me put it this way: I think that whatever the superficial political difference, which may have played one way or another, and the differences in presentation, which may have played one way or the other, the reality is that this country is tackling the coronavirus crisis – has done and will do – with much more that unites us than divides us.
"And that is what is going to continue to be our approach."
Mr Johnson's visit comes after support for Scottish independence reached a record high of 54 per cent in an opinion poll earlier this month.
It is his fifth visit to Scotland as Prime Minister. He has visited military bases twice and has been accused of hiding from Scottish voters.
Asked earlier about a second referendum, he said: "We had a referendum on breaking up the Union a few years ago, I think only six years ago, that is not a generation by any computation and I think what people really want to do is see our whole country coming back strongly together and that's what we're going to do.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson seeks to shore up the Union as he heads to Scotland today
"What we've seen throughout this crisis is the importance of the strength of the Union in dealing with certain crucial, crucial things - supporting people through the furlough scheme, the work of the Army and armed services in testing and moving people around.
"Now, through Barnett consequences, we've put another £250 million into the NHS in Scotland to make sure that we're ready for the winter because we've got to be clear that this thing has not gone away."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel