FOOTAGE of the Prime Minister saying he doesn't want Nicola Sturgeon "anywhere near" a key climate change summit due to be held in Glasgow has surfaced.
Boris Johnson made the comments at a Tory Party conference drinks reception last night.
Addressing Tory delegates, the Prime Minister hinted he would block Scotland's First Minister from the international COP26 event, which will take place in Glasgow in December 2020.
The event will decide the direction of future global efforts to prevent the climate crisis.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson: I want Union flags, not Sturgeon, at summit
Johnson said: "I’ll tell you what we’ll do. We make sure – with every policy we pursue, with every investment we make in Scotland, then we put a Union flag on it.
“For instance, the COP26 climate change summit that’s going to be held ... the leaders of the entire world will come to Glasgow.
"I guess I don’t mind seeing a Saltire or two on that summit, but I want to see a Union flag – I don’t want to see Nicola Sturgeon anywhere near it."
Boris Johnson tells ScotTories he will block Scotland's First Minister from COP26 global climate change summit in Glasgow and cover it in union flags#ConservativePartyConference pic.twitter.com/wYqKd4vmBt
— Phantom Power (@PhantomPower14) September 30, 2019
The First Minister's spokesman responded to the comments earlier.
He said: "Boris Johnson certainly sounded like he was enjoying himself at the Tory drinks reception.
"But out in the real world people will be deeply embarrassed to hear their Prime Minister acting so childishly.
"It is right that the COP26 conference should come to Scotland given our leadership in climate action.
"We were one of the first countries in the world to acknowledge the global climate emergency and the Scottish Government has introduced the toughest targets in the UK to ensure our action matches the scale of our climate ambitions."
READ MORE: First Minister hits out at Boris Johnson over summit claim
He continued: "When it comes to issues of common concern such as climate change, the SNP Government are proud to play our part and work in partnership with other governments – something that Boris Johnson seems completely incapable of doing."
Last month, during a visit to Scotland, Johnson U-turned on the claims the First Minister shouldn’t be “anywhere near” the summit.
Pressed about those comments last month, Johnson told BBC Scotland: "Well of course there’s going to be a role for Nicola, for Mark Drakeford, for everybody in the COP26."
But more recent reports suggest Downing Street advisers want to sideline Sturgeon to stop the conference being used as "an advert for an independence campaign”.
Leaked messages suggest advisers are planning to keep Johnson from sharing a platform with the SNP leader in the run-up to and during the event.
The Prime Minister should "neutralise" the First Minster by including other devolved leaders where possible, they said.
One adviser's message referring to Sturgeon read: "This can be labelled as a role for her [as one of the UK's leaders] but avoids her taking centre stage."
Another said: "We can't let this be used as an advert for an independence campaign."
The notes also document efforts to ensure that the Union flag is displayed as much as possible at the summit.
Responding to the report, Sturgeon tweeted: "All that matters is that COP26 delivers an outcome to meet the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. We must work together and maximise contributions towards that. Anyone – me or PM – who allowed politics to get in way would be abdicating that responsibility"
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