A FURIOUS Tory MP has hit out Nicola Sturgeon who accused her of being rude to Prince William.
The comment came after the First Minister revealed that the Scottish Government had warned the royal household in advance about the ban on travel between England and Scotland.
Despite that, the Earl and Countess of Strathearn arrived in Edinburgh on Monday morning on the first stop of their tour of the UK.
READ MORE: William and Kate breach Scots Covid travel ban as royal train tour arrives in Edinburgh
The trip was criticised by public health experts.
Devi Sridhar, the US born professor and chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh and a senior advisor to the First Minister, tweeted: “Love it here but some things I will never understand about Britain. Aren’t we all in a pandemic and living under travel restrictions?”
READ MORE: Covid in Scotland: Devi Sridhar hits out at William and Kate's Edinburgh visit
Asked about the visit at the Scottish Government’s daily coronavirus briefing, Sturgeon refused to condemn the couple, but said the government had made clear to the palace that there were a number of restrictions in place.
She said: “The royal visit is a matter for the royal household and the arrangements around it, and any questions about those arrangements, should be directed to the royal household.
“The Scottish Government was advised about the intention to visit, and we made sure that the royal household were aware, as you would expect, of the restrictions in place in Scotland so that could inform both the decision and the planning of the visit.
“Any more questions on that should be directed to the royal household.”
That infuriated an unnamed Tory MP. He told MailOnline: “This man is the future King of Scotland. She has no right to try to stop him.
“It is very unsubtle and I think it will backfire on her because there are a lot of loyalist Scots who would be pretty appalled that she would behave in such a rude manner. She should know better.”
A royal source defended the trip, telling The Herald: “Travelling across the border is permitted for work purposes.
“The Duke and Duchess [of Cambridge] travelled to Scotland to carry out their work, thanking frontline workers who have done so much for the country throughout the pandemic.
“The visits were planned in consultation with the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments.”
There is an exemption in the rules that allows people to “travel for work, or provide voluntary or charitable services”, however, this should only be “where that cannot be done from your home”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel