Sturgeon accused of ‘unhelpful’ language on visitor ban
TOURISTS could be put off visiting Scotland by Nicola Sturgeon’s ‘bullish’ and ‘stigmatising’ language about closing the border with England, it was claimed yesterday.
Hoteliers and shop owners said motorway protests by nationalists and the First Minister’s refusal to rule out a Border closure could drive away potential visitors from the rest of the UK.
Miss Sturgeon was forced to defend herself on the issue, saying ‘there’s not an anti-English bone in my body’. Her comments come as the country’s tourism industry welcomes visitors back indoors since social distancing measures were introduced in March.
It marks the move into Phase 3 of the Holyrood’s route map for relaxation of lockdown.
But this has been met with protests by nationalists in recent weeks, with groups of demonstrators holding events at the M74 at the Ecclefechan, Dumfriesshire, and near Berwickupon-Tweed demanding tourists from England stay away due to the country’s higher Covid-19 rate.
Their demands were even backed by SNP leader in Westminster Ian Blackford, who echoed the sentiment on social media.
The First Minister has previously been criticised after stating they she would not ‘shy away’ from introducing a mandatory quarantine for English visitors upon arrival.
Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw yesterday accused Miss Sturgeon of using ‘unwise, bullish and lurid language which had been ‘detrimental’ to the welcoming message Scottish business are trying to convey.
Speaking at the Cartvale pub in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, ahead of the launch of Scotland’s tourism sector, Mr Carlaw said: ‘The language Nicola Sturgeon has deployed has been incredibly unwise. Talking about closing borders and almost stigmatising England as one large community has been unfortunate, unhelpful and detrimental to the welcoming open message Scotland wants to send to the rest of the UK, who we want to come and support the hospitality sector.
‘If I owned a business I would be concerned about the focus the Scottish Government has continually placed on this. We know if we do have a Test and Protect system in place we can handle local outbreaks.’
Shop owner Liz Geddes, who has run upmarket clothing store chain CCW for 35 years, said she fears ‘antiEnglish rhetoric’ will jeopardise the future of the business.
She added: ‘Some of the rhetoric against the English does not help. Our business is built on English and European visitors coming to Scotland and we make them welcome.’
Yesterday the First Minister was quizzed about her comments regarding English visitors.
She said: ‘There’s not an anti-English bone in my body, I don’t have a single anti-English fibre of my being. My grandmother was English and I lead a party full of English people.’
The First Minister insisted there are ‘many, many parts of the world’ where internal borders had been closed. She claimed international experts would be baffled by the argument over closing borders, adding: ‘The worst thing I can do for business is to stop being cautious.’
‘Language has been incredibly unwise’