BORIS Johnson was “quite right” to reject Nicola Sturgeon’s invitation to Bute House, Douglas Ross insists.

The Scottish Tory leader backed the Prime Minister’s decision to reject the offer for face-to-face talks during his visit to Scotland this week.

The First Minister had written to Number 10 to propose a meeting on the Scottish and UK governments’ pandemic strategy, but was rebuffed.

In his response, Johnson maintained that he was eager to meet with devolved leaders “soon”.

Ross – who has secured a meeting with the PM – told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland show: “She put out her invite to the Prime Minister via Twitter … I’m not sure if he got it before everyone else got it on Twitter.

“His response was quite right, Nicola Sturgeon had agreed with the Prime Minister that governments across the UK would meet together … that’s the right approach to take and that was the agreement made recently.

“There’s constant dialogue between the Scottish and UK governments.”

The Prime Minister is expected to visit Scotland this week as part of efforts to strengthen the Union.

His itinerary has not been announced, though it has been confirmed he will not be meeting the First Minister in Bute House.

The PM will be meeting with Ross as he tours the country.

The Moray MP said: "I'm meeting him today and I'm going on a visit with him tomorrow."

He added: "When he's up in Scotland today and tomorrow, the Prime Minister is conducting a number of visits and a number of events to continue the engagement and working with people, businesses and sectors across Scotland."

READ MORE: Boris Johnson knocks back Nicola Sturgeon's offer to meet in Edinburgh

In his letter to Sturgeon, Johnson wrote: “As I noted when we last met, I am keen to arrange an in-person meeting with you and the other first ministers and deputy first minister to build on the constructive discussions we had earlier this summer.

"We agreed then that we should establish a structured forum for ongoing engagement between the Government and the devolved administrations to deliver tangible outcomes in the interests of people throughout the UK.

"There is much for us to discuss as all parts of the UK work together on our shared priority of recovering from the pandemic.

"I understand our officials have made good progress on the details of this since we last spoke.

"I am particularly keen that we work closely together on the vaccination booster campaign this autumn which will be crucial as we continue to tackle the pandemic.

"The UK Government has procured millions of vaccines for the entire United Kingdom and we look forward to working with the Scottish Government as we roll out booster jabs in line with JCVI's advice."

He added: "The UK Government is working closely with the devolved Scottish Government on a variety of different issues.

"I know that you have been meeting regularly with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove, but I look forward to meeting with you soon and working together in the interests of people in all parts of our country."

Ross’s intervention comes after Scottish Tory colleague Andrew Bowie branded the First Minister “utterly unprofessional” for publishing her invitation to the PM on Twitter, as well as claiming the offer could represent a security risk.

READ MORE: Enraged Tory MP makes 'ludicrous' claim about Boris Johnson's invite to Bute House

He tweeted: “Pretty poor show, utterly unprofessional (although par for the course with our First Minister) and against all standard security considerations if the PM is coming North to announce it on twitter in advance.

“Even if he is, he's not ‘visiting’, he's Scotland's Prime Minister.”

The assertions were dismissed by the SNP.

A spokesperson replied: "Andrew Bowie is really scraping the barrel here.

“Boris Johnson’s visit to Scotland was already being reported in the media – and the notion that there are any ‘security considerations’ from simply repeating that it is understood he will be somewhere in Scotland at some point this week is ludicrous.”

Last time the Prime Minister visited Bute House, in July 2019, the newly appointed Tory leader was jeered on his way in, and opted to slip out the back door after the meeting.

Johnson has not visited Scotland since late January, and was conspicuous in his absence ahead of May's Holyrood election.

In her letter to Number 10 this week, Sturgeon wrote: “I understand you will be in Scotland later this week and thought this might offer us an opportunity to meet in person in Edinburgh for a discussion on the current Covid situation and our respective plans for recovery — focusing, obviously, on the areas where it is important that our governments work together.

“I would be happy to welcome you to Bute House and hereby extend an invitation.”