BORIS Johnson will not apologise for his remarks about the closure of coal mines, despite causing outrage.
Speaking to Westminster journalists this morning, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said he recognised the "huge impact" the closure of pits had on the country.
On a visit to Scotland yesterday, Mr Johnson praised Margaret Thatcher's closure of coal mines and said it had helped the country move towards being less reliant on coal.
He was asked about the timeline for a transition away from oil and gas when he said: "You look at what we've done already. We've transitioned away from coal in my lifetime.
"Thanks to Margaret Thatcher who closed so many coal mines across the country, we had a big early start and we're now moving rapidly away from coal altogether."
Mr Johnson laughed as he made the comment, and told Scottish journalists: “I thought that would get you going.”
READ MORE: Thatcher gave UK 'big early start' in move away from coal by closing mines, says Johnson
Opposition politicians including Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford blasted the comments, saying they were "crass" and insensitive.
However Mr Johnson's official spokesman said today: "The Prime Minister recognises the huge impact and pain closing coal mines had in communities across the UK."
He added: "This Government has an ambitious plan to tackle the critical issue of climate change, which includes reducing reliance on coal and other non-renewable energy sources.
“During the visit the Prime Minister pointed to the huge progress already made in the UK transitioning away from coal and towards cleaner forms of energy, and our commitment to supporting people and industries on that transition.”
When he was asked if Mr Johnson would apologise for the comments, the spokesman did not answer directly and referred reporters to his previous statement.
He said: "You’ve got my words there, the Prime Minister recognises the huge impact and pain closing coal mines had in communities across the UK."
The non-apology has reignited fury in Mr Johnson's opponents, with Keir Starmer saying the PM had "shown his true colours yet again".
He said: "For Boris Johnson to laugh when talking about the closure of the coal mines is a slap in the face for communities still suffering from the devastating effects of Margaret Thatcher’s callous actions.
"I’m proud to have always stood with our coalfield communities. I represented the miners in court as the Tories tried to close the pits. These communities contributed so much to the success of our country, and then were abandoned.
"The Tories didn’t care then, and they don’t care now.
"For Boris Johnson to treat the pain and suffering caused to our coalfield communities as a punchline shows just how out of touch with working people he is.
"The Prime Minister must apologise immediately."
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