CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak has denied he once argued for the breakup of the Union.

The Tory took to Twitter to say the claims, which appeared in a Financial Times profile yesterday, were false.

The paper quotes an anonymous colleague who says Sunak has a pragmatic approach to the four-nation United Kingdom.

He recalls: “I remember discussing the future of the Union with Rishi and he argued that England should break away.

“He was advocating the end of the UK because it doesn’t make financial sense to him.

“He doesn’t have any love for the institution and I suspect he looks at it as he looks at anything: what’s the profit?”

Responding to the claims on Twitter, Sunak wrote: “There are some comments about the Union falsely attributed to me in the FT today.

“My parents moved to the United Kingdom, not England, because the Union represented an idea of opportunity. I am a strong believer in our Union of four nations. Hope that clarifies that!”

In December, the Tory MP said indyref2 should not take place under any circumstances.

Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr, Sunak said: “We’ve been crystal clear that we believe very strongly in our Union.

He added: “It’s the most enduring and successful union the world has seen. We think Scotland is stronger for being in it and the Union is stronger for having Scotland part of it.

“And we did have a referendum on this question in 2014 and at the time people were told that was a once in a generation referendum. They voted very clearly to remain part of the UK and I think people can tell that we take respecting the results of referendums very seriously in this government and we believe that that result should be respected.”

Marr pointed out that 1.2 million people had voted for the SNP in December’s General Election, 45% of the total.

He asked the Chancellor if the Tories had “a Scotland problem”.

Sunak responded: “No, I think Nicola Sturgeon herself has acknowledged that not everyone who voted for the SNP necessarily supports independence.

“She said that herself and as you’ve just acknowledged as well. The majority of people casting their votes in

Scotland in this election did so for parties that support the Union and not separatist parties. So I don’t accept that there is necessarily that mandate.”

Asked to rule out ever allowing indyref2, Sunak said: “The Prime Minister’s been very clear. He is unequivocally committed to the Union.

“He passionately believes in it and I think as you see this new government get to work strengthening our Union and levelling up”.

“Uniting our country will be at the heart of our agenda.”

Asked if that meant “no referendum under any circumstances”, Sunak responded: “That is absolutely not our intention.”

Last month the Scottish Government temporarily shelved plans to hold indyref2 later this year.

Ministers won a vote in the Scottish Parliament in January calling for a referendum, despite the UK Government’s refusal to grant powers to hold one.

However last month Scotland’s Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell wrote to Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove saying that planning for another vote has been “paused” to focus on the “unprecedented” impact of coronavirus.

In his letter, Russell said: “Because of the crisis, the Scottish Government has paused work on preparing for an independence referendum this year.”

A poll earlier this week revealed the SNP is on course to win 70 MSPs in next year’s Scottish election.