SCOTTISH Tory John Lamont has found himself at the centre of a Twitter storm after posting about his and the Prime Minister's Burns Night experience last night.
The MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk tweeted this morning to say he and Boris Johnson had enjoyed a "spectacular" evening of "all things Scottish".
He wrote: "It was a privilege to celebrate the life and works of #RobertBurns with the Prime Minister @BorisJohnson last night. It was a spectacular evening of music, poetry, food, great company and all things Scottish."
It was a privilege to celebrate the life and works of #RobertBurns with the Prime Minister @BorisJohnson last night.
— John Lamont MP 🏴🇬🇧 (@John2Win) January 24, 2020
It was a spectacular evening of music, poetry, food, great company and all things Scottish.
🏴 🎶 🥃 🎉 #BurnsNight pic.twitter.com/f3XYFEm3A9
Understandably, this sudden appreciation of Scottish culture came as a surprise to many.
After all it was just yesterday that the Scottish Tory education spokeswoman said teaching primary one children on the Western Isles Gaelic before English would put them at a "disadvantage" ...
Plus are we all forgetting about the time Boris Johnson edited a newspaper which featured a poem calling Scottish people a "verminous" race?!
And need we point to the Tories' thinly-veiled threats to the Scottish Parliament or their ignorance at the devolved nations' desire to stay in the EU?
Of course, Scots were quick to point all of this out to Lamont ...
While the post gained 83 retweets, it also received more than 400 replies - and most of them were not happy.
SNP MSP Paul Wheelhouse wrote: "Rabbie Burns was a proud Scot every day of the year, #John2Lose, not just once a year -unfortunately you’re more likely to have a political epitaph of being one of a modern day ‘Parcel Of Rogues in a nation’, for selling out Scotland’s right to choose to stay in the EU."
Rabbie Burns was a proud Scot every day of the year, #John2Lose, not just once a year -unfortunately you’re more likely to have a political epitaph of being one of a modern day ‘Parcel Of Rogues in a nation’, for selling out Scotland’s right to choose to stay in the EU🇪🇺
— Paul Wheelhouse MSP🏴 (@PaulWheelhouse) January 24, 2020
Neuroscientist Sandra Pickering highlighted a bit of a fundamental issue with the post, too.
It was a privilege to celebrate the life and works of #RobertBurns with the Prime Minister @BorisJohnson last night.
— John Lamont MP 🏴🇬🇧 (@John2Win) January 24, 2020
It was a spectacular evening of music, poetry, food, great company and all things Scottish.
🏴 🎶 🥃 🎉 #BurnsNight pic.twitter.com/f3XYFEm3A9
She wrote: "You got the date wrong. As well as everything else you've got wrong."
Burns Night is, of course, tomorrow ...
We hope you all enjoy the celebrations (on the correct night, obviously!)
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