Cummings claims Johnson wants to ‘shut down’ Holyrood
Boris Johnson is an “unthinking Unionist” who wants to reverse devolution and close Holyrood, according to his former close adviser Dominic Cummings.
However the former aide said that while the Prime Minister may dislike devolution he would not “dare try” to end it.
The revelations come seven months after Mr Johnson was forced to row back on comments made to Tory MPS in a private zoom call, that devolution had been a “disaster”, and will add fuel to SNP claims that he wants to undermine Scottish devolution.
According to The National newspaper, Mr Cummings was asked what Mr Johnson says "about the constitutional set-up behind the scenes” and he responded: “He's an unthinking unionist. Thinks devolution/scottish parliament was a disaster, wd like
to reverse it but wont dare try...”
Mr Cummings left Number 10 last year following a bitter internal power struggle, but he had not played a major role in constitutional matters, as those issues were handled by Oliver Lewis, who has also since quit.
Mr Cummings’ remarks were described by SNP MSP Rona Mackay as “an utterly devastating revelation for the unionist cause in Scotland”.
She said they laid bare “the undeniable threat Boris Johnson and his Tories pose towards the very future of our democratically elected Scottish Parliament”.
In November the Prime Minister said his remarks on devolution were “not entirely accurate” and insisted he is not opposed to devolution but the “way the SNP have handled devolution in Scotland”.
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: "The Prime Minister's desire to reverse devolution is no more a secret than Dominic Cummings being a sociopath.
"He has already used his Internal Market Act to fundamentally undermine the Scottish Parliament, and gone to court to strike down important devolved legislation like the recent children's rights bill.”
A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister has been very clear that he supports devolution but regards this SNP government as a disaster.”