‘There is NO border between England and Scotland’: Boris Johnson tears into Nicola Sturgeon over her threat to impose quarantine within the UK – as she brands the PM ‘absurd’
Boris Johnson today tore into Nicola Sturgeon over her threat to quarantine people entering Scotland from England – insisting there is ‘no border’ within the UK.
The PM derided the First Minister’s repeated refusal to rule out the move, saying it was ‘absolutely’ astonishing she thought it was an option.
‘There is no such thing as a border between England and Scotland,’ Mr Johnson told MPs.
But at her daily briefing in Edinburgh later Ms Sturgeon accused the premier of ‘absurd and ridiculous political comments’, saying there was obviously a ‘geographical boundary’.
The bitter clashes mark another escalation in tensions between Mr Johnson and Ms Sturgeon, who has previously slated him for acting ‘recklessly’ by loosening lockdown too quickly.
Scotland has been taking a distinctly more cautious approach to easing restrictions, and there have even been claims that the SNP is using the crisis to fuel the drive for independence.
At PMQs, Boris Johnson tore into Nicola Sturgeon over her threat to quarantine people entering Scotland from England – insisting there is ‘no border’ within the UK
At her daily briefing in Edinburgh later Ms Sturgeon accused the premier of ‘absurd and ridiculous political comments’
Asked about the situation by Conservative MP Andrew Bowie at PMQs, Mr Johnson said: ‘There have been no such discussions with the Scottish administration about that but I would point out what he knows very well – there is no such thing as a border between England and Scotland.’
However, at her own briefing later Ms Sturgeon said: ‘What there definitely is, is a geographical boundary to my powers as First Minister.
‘If the Prime Minister is questioning that now, I’m not sure what he would say if I pitched up in Newcastle and started to try to implement Scottish Government policies in Newcastle.
‘And see what I’ve just said there? It’s absurd too, which is why we shouldn’t be having these discussions.
‘We should all be focusing with an absolute laser-like focus on what we need to do within our own responsibilities and working together when necessary to stop a virus.’
On the possibility of people having to quarantine after entering Scotland, Ms Sturgeon said there are no such proposals at the moment, but added: ‘Given the nature of what we’re dealing with right now – just to remind the Prime Minister: an infectious virus – I would not be doing my job properly if I ruled things out that, as we see from countries around the world, are being used selectively in appropriate circumstances to try to contain a virus.
‘If I’m looking at the data and the evidence and I’m seeing that there’s a risk to Scotland of infection coming in from other parts of the UK and I think that there needs to be measures taken to contain that, then I will discuss that with other administrations as appropriate.’
Ms Sturgeon insisted her one objective during the pandemic is ‘trying to stop this virus getting out of control’.
She said anyone trying to turn the crisis into a ‘political or a constitutional argument’ needed to ‘go and take a long hard look at yourself in a mirror’.
‘If you’re being honest with yourself, you will admit that you’re failing people or risking failing people, so I’m not going to do that,’ she said,
The PM derided the First Minister’s repeated refusal to rule out the move, saying it was ‘absolutely’ astonishing she thought it was an option