SNP denies claims it leaked location of Boris Johnson's holiday cottage
The SNP has been forced to deny claims it leaked the location of Boris Johnson’s holiday cottage in Scotland to the press, causing him to cancel the getaway.
The prime minister was pictured by the Daily Mail enjoying a break on the remote Scottish coast with his partner Carrie Symonds and their baby son.
After the photos were published late on Friday, the couple were forced to cancel their break with Downing Street sources citing security concerns.
Shortly afterwards, however, Tory MPs accused the SNP of having leaked the location to the newspaper.
To blame @theSNP for this is classic deflection from a Prime Minister who is under attack for his shambolic Government. It was not @theSNP who told the Daily Mail and for what its worth so many folk in the Highlands told me they knew where the PM was. https://t.co/0WSYk6lOQH
— Ian Blackford (@Ianblackford_MP) August 22, 2020
The party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford stringently denied the claims in a series of tweets on Saturday morning.
“To blame the SNP for this is classic deflection from a prime minister who is under attack for his shambolic government,” Blackford said.
He added: “It was not the SNP who told the Daily Mail and for what it’s worth so many folk in the Highlands told me they knew where the PM was.
“And just for the record, I was not informed by Number 10 that the prime minister was in Ross, Skye and Lochaber.”
The Daily Mail reported that Johnson was accused by a local farmer of setting up a tent and lighting a campfire without permission.
Sheep farmer Kenny Cameron told the newspaper: “Mr Johnson is meant to be leading the country and yet he is not setting a great example.”
Johnson has been under fire over the A-levels crisis that saw the government perform an embarrassing U-turn over grades last week.
His critics had urged him to return from his holiday early to deal with the aftermath of the crisis.
A government source confirmed to the PA news agency on Saturday that the PM had returned from Scotland, cutting short his holiday by three days.