BORIS Johnson should reaffirm his commitment to the Scotland Act after claims he would shut down Holyrood if he could, the SNP has said.

We revealed yesterday how the Prime Minister’s former chief aide Dominic Cummings said that Johnson is an “unthinking Unionist” who wants to reverse devolution.

And now, the SNP have hit out and urged Johnson to recommit to the Scotland Act 2016 - which recognises the Scottish Parliament’s place and describes it as “permanent”. 

Last year, it was widely reported that Johnson told a Zoom call of northern English Tory MPs that he considered devolution to be a “disaster”.

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He later claimed he was not opposed to devolution itself, but the “way the SNP have handled devolution in Scotland”. 

The SNP also said that Johnson is leading a power grab by stealth through the Internal Market Bill and Shared Prosperity Fund.

The National:

Asked what Johnson really says about the constitutional set-up behind the scenes on one of his Substack Q&As yesterday, Cummings told The National: “He's an unthinkign [sic] unionist. Thinks devolution/Scottish parliament was a disaster, wd like to reverse it but wont dare try...”

SNP MSP for Airdrie and Shotts Neil Gray said:“The claims made by Dominic Cummings are extremely serious and strike to the very heart of democracy in Scotland.

“Boris Johnson should immediately provide a cast-iron guarantee that the recognition of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government in the Scotland Act remains. 

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The National:

“If he cannot then it is another devastating blow for the union as it will prove beyond any doubt that only independence can safeguard Holyrood’s future.

 “The silence from Douglas Ross and the Scottish Tories on these claims has been deafening, they should distance themselves from them and reaffirm their commitment to Scotland’s parliament.

“This Tory government has mounted sustained attacks on devolution in Scotland and have taken advantage of their hard Brexit to trample over the powers of the Scottish Parliament and carry out naked power grabs.

The National:
“This is another event in a saga of Tory threats to the Scottish Parliament and shows that our future is not safe in the hands of the Tories. The only way to protect Scotland’s parliament from the Tories and to keep decision-making about Scotland in Scotland is with independence.”

Former Vote Leave chief Cummings left Number 10 last year following a bitter power struggle.

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While he was not reported to play a major role in matters relating to the Union, Cummings’s Brexiteer apprentice Oliver Lewis was briefly head of the UK Government’s failed Union Unit.

He quit after just two weeks, before it was decided that Union strategy would largely be the focus of a key group of Cabinet insiders rather than the unit.