It comes amid surging support for independence which has seen recent polls show that 54 percent of Scots are in favour of leaving the UK. Express.co.uk understands that he told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that more ministers should be sent to Scotland to “show how strong Westminster is”.
The UK Government’s base is located at Queen Elizabeth House, which opened last July and is home to more than 3,000 civil servants.
The new hub houses the Scotland Office, the Competition and Markets Authority and HMRC and is designed to ensure that Westminster is at the heart of Scottish Capital and is near to St Andrews House, home of The Scottish Government.
Whitehall sources told Express.co.uk that Boris Johnson “stressed the importance of the union” to his Cabinet colleagues stressing that “regular visits were needed to Scotland by his Cabinet”.
They said that “Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh are just as important as London” stressing that Scotland is “Westminster’s responsibility for Scotland is extremely important.”
The source said that the UK Government hub at Queen’s Elizabeth House in Edinburgh has been “discussed” as a location for Cabinet or Committee meetings with “provision” being made at the offices for “such an affair”.
It added: “Boris Johnson wants to get the message out that Edinburgh is an important city.
“Having Cabinet meetings here doesn’t just show the PM’s message about the strength of the Union but also that Scotland is part of the UK.”
David Cameron last held a regional Cabinet meeting in Scotland at Shell's UK exploration and production base in Aberdeen in December 2014 and Whitehall is hoping to restart this trend by Boris Johnson.
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But the Cabinet meeting plans have angered Nationalists who have accused Westminster of being in “panic-mode” because of the rising Nationalist movement.
Pete Wishart MP, the SNP's cabinet spokesperson, said: "It shows just how out-of-touch the Tories are with the people of Scotland that they think sending UK ministers up here a bit more often will erase the devastating impact decades of Tory policies have had on our country and the fact they are dragging us out of the EU against our will.
“It also shows that Boris Johnson is in full-blown panic mode amid rising support for independence.
“Boris Johnson is the most unpopular Prime Minister in Scotland since Thatcher. If he and his Cabinet want to visit Scotland more often I imagine that will only serve to highlight this further.
"It's beyond any doubt that Westminster is simply not working for Scotland. Majority support for an independence referendum is now an established position and poll after poll has shown support for Scottish independence in the lead.
"The only way to properly protect Scotland's interests is by becoming an independent country."
It comes after Whitehall advertised for a new senior adviser role to be based at Queen Elizabeth House in Edinburgh at £120,000 a year.
Latest accounts filed by the Scotland Office also show that costs increased from around £8million in 2014 after the vote to almost £11million in 2019.
The SNP criticised the £3.1million rise claiming that the Scotland Office was a “propaganda campaign” for Boris Johnson.
However, Whitehall has denied this, saying that the new job was to replace a staff member who was leaving, stressing it was not a new role.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiemh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmV4cHJlc3MuY28udWsvbmV3cy9wb2xpdGljcy8xMzE0NTgzL25pY29sYS1zdHVyZ2Vvbi1uZXdzLWJvcmlzLWpvaG5zb24tc2NvdGxhbmQtcG93ZXItZ3JhYi1ob2x5cm9vZC1TTlAtbGF0ZXN00gF-aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZXhwcmVzcy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3BvbGl0aWNzLzEzMTQ1ODMvbmljb2xhLXN0dXJnZW9uLW5ld3MtYm9yaXMtam9obnNvbi1zY290bGFuZC1wb3dlci1ncmFiLWhvbHlyb29kLVNOUC1sYXRlc3QvYW1w?oc=5
2020-07-27 00:00:00Z
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