Liz Truss is set to follow in Boris Johnson's footsteps and taken on the role of minister for the Union if she becomes Prime Minister.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's campaign stop in Scotland, the favourite in the Conservative leadership contest said it showed her commitment to the United Kingdom. 

Her trip north of the border for the hustings in Perth comes after she sparked a row by describing Nicola Sturgeon as an “attention seeker” who should be "ignored."

The First Minister later said the Foreign Secretary was "effectively saying Scotland should be ignored."

In a statement, Ms Truss said she would govern for the whole UK “family” if she gains the keys to No 10.

“Having grown up in Paisley before going to a comprehensive school in Leeds, I consider myself a child of the Union. When I say I will deliver for our country, I mean all of it,” she said.

“My government would put the Union at the heart of everything it does and ensure that all corners of our country are rightly championed at the very top of government.

“For too long, people in parts of our United Kingdom have been let down by their devolved administrations playing political games instead of focusing on their priorities. If elected prime minister, I will deliver for our whole country.

“We are not four separate nations in an agreement of convenience, as some would have us believe. We are one great country which shares a history and institutions, but also family and friends, memories and values.

“I would ensure that our entire family continues to get the attention, support, and investment that it deserves.”

Ahead of a visit next week to Scotland, she accused the SNP of being preoccupied with the issue of independence instead on averting a recession.

She also hit out at the Labour administration in Wales for failing to invest in infrastructure and attacked Sinn Fein politicians in Northern Ireland for trying to “drive a wedge” between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

Ms Truss said she would invest in infrastructure throughout the UK, such as upgrading the A75 between Gretna and Stranraer and building the M4 relief road in Wales.

She said she would also continue to work to open up new export markets for products such as Scottish whisky and smoked salmon, Welsh lamb and ships from Northern Ireland.

Responding, the SNP deputy Westminster leader Kirsten Oswald said: “Instead of rhyming off pointless, generic rhetoric about the UK being ‘one great country’, Liz Truss must listen to the people of Scotland who voted overwhelmingly in favour of another independence referendum last year.

“The longer she denies reality, the stronger our case becomes. Be in no doubt, though: whoever does become the next prime minister, Scotland’s voice will be heard.”