National festival must not mention ‘Britain’ or ‘UK’, SNP tells PM

‘The Scottish Government are causing delays because they want to remove all references to Britain or UK’

SNP ministers have demanded that Boris Johnson does not include the words “Britain” or “UK” in the promotion of a new festival celebrating British culture.

Whitehall insiders said the Scottish Government had also objected to “British” being included in the title or promotional material for the celebration of the “very best of modern Britain”. The row is said to have delayed the Department

of Culture, Media and Sport commissioning around £3million of work from creative agencies tasked with drawing up the material.

UK Government sources said the SNP’S stance was “incredibly petty and hugely frustrating”, with the festival expected to give Scotland’s struggling cultural sector a £12million boost.

Talks with the Scottish Government are now said to have stalled over planning for the event, which was envisaged as a successor to the Festival of Britain in 1951. Theresa May announced the event at the 2018 Tory conference with a prediction that it would strengthen “our precious Union”, and Mr Johnson wants to use it to boost national morale following the pandemic.

It also emerged that Mr Johnson is planning his third trip in three months to Scotland next month, with polls showing a small majority for independence.

Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, will also make another visit north of the Border later this year. The Treasury is supporting 930,000 Scottish jobs through furlough and funding for the self-employed.

The Government is drawing up plans for 10 events as part of the 2022 festival, including one in Scotland that would include performances akin to those seen in the 2012 London Olympics

opening ceremony. It will also celebrate the UK’S achievements in science, engineering and technology.

A source told The Scottish Mail on Sunday: “We want to create a festival that showcases the very best of modern Britain but the Scottish Government are causing unnecessary delays because they want to remove all references to Britain or the UK when we launch the next phase.”

Maurice Golden, the Scottish Tories’ shadow culture secretary, said more funding to celebrate Scotland and the

UK’S shared culture was “indisputably” positive “but, as usual, the SNP is playing petty, nationalist politics”.

The Scottish Government did not say whether ministers had asked for the words “UK” and “Britain” to be removed from the festival, but said it was working “constructively” on the plans.

A spokesman said: “We have been engaging positively since very early in the process … and had several meetings with the director … and with the UK Government and any suggestion to the contrary is unfounded.”