Sturgeon: Strange the PM will not meet me

Boris Johnson meets Nicola Sturgeon in 2019Reuters

Boris Johnson met Nicola Sturgeon at Bute House in July 2019

Nicola Sturgeon said it was "strange" the PM would not meet her during his two-day visit to Scotland.

The first minister said "I don't feel snubbed" but "most people will think it's a bit odd" that Mr Johnson declined an invitation.

Instead, he has met police officers and visited a renewable energy project.

Mr Johnson has suggested he have a meeting with first ministers at a later date.

Nicola Sturgeon had invited the PM to her official residence to discuss Covid recovery.

She said it was a "missed opportunity" that Mr Johnson did not meet her at Bute House, her official residence in Edinburgh.

In a letter to Ms Sturgeon seen by the BBC, Mr Johnson said he was "keen to arrange an in-person meeting" with her.

He said that, at a previous meeting between them, it was agreed they should set up a "structured forum for ongoing engagement" - and officials had made good progress on this.

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

"The UK government is working closely with the devolved Scottish government on a variety of different issues."

And he added: "I look forward to meeting with you soon and working together in the interests of people in all parts of our country."

Ms Sturgeon tweeted on Monday that she had invited the PM to Bute House. She said the prime minister's trip would be the first chance for the pair to meet in person for a while.

The first minister said she believed people would find it "a bit odd and a bit strange" that Mr Johnson had chosen not to meet her.

Speaking to broadcasters, she said she did not feel "snubbed", but that it would have been the first opportunity to sit down and have a "face to face chat", describing the move as a "missed opportunity - but that's on him".

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who is also on a visit to Scotland, said he thought the prime minister should meet Ms Sturgeon.

He said the two should be working together on "the two most important things facing us" - the pandemic and the climate emergency.

He added: "We shouldn't have an argument about when they're going to meet or where - they need to work together on this."

They may not be meeting in person, but that doesn't mean Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon can't engage in some political games.

The first minister threw down a gauntlet very publicly when she posted her invitation to Mr Johnson on Twitter.

It was a win-win proposition for Ms Sturgeon, presenting the prime minister with the choice of looking like a visiting dignitary from a foreign power - or a scaredy cat swerving the jeering crowds which turned out for his last visit to Bute House.

Ultimately Mr Johnson has refused to take the bait, preferring to suggest a summit of leaders from around the UK - presumably where he can take the role of magnanimous host.

For all the talk of grown-up dialogue there is plainly no love lost between the pair, who will no doubt trade rhetoric via the media rather than face-to-face.

And with the constitutional question of Scottish independence still looming between them, the political power-plays are likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

The trip is Mr Johnson's first visit to Scotland since January - and his first since a pro-independence majority was returned at the Holyrood election in May.

There is no prospect of the pair seeing eye-to-eye on another referendum, but Ms Sturgeon had said she wanted to discuss how the governments could work together on "Covid recovery".

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said the SNP leader had put out her invitation to the prime minister via Twitter, adding: "I'm not sure if he got it before everyone else got it on Twitter".

Mr Ross said: "His response was quite right. Nicola Sturgeon had agreed with the prime minister that governments across the UK would meet together. That is the right approach to take and that was the agreement made recently.

"There's constant dialogue between the Scottish and UK governments."

On the prime minister's last trip to Scotland in January, Ms Sturgeon questioned whether the trip was essential during lockdown restrictions.

Downing Street said it was important for the prime minister to be "visible and accessible" during the pandemic.

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