UK Cabinet insist Boris Johnson’s mid-pandemic trip to Scotland is ‘absolutely essential’

Michael Gove has said Boris Johnson’s visit to Scotland to promote the Union is ‘absolutely essential’. File Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Boris Johnson’s visit to Scotland to promote the Union is “absolutely essential”, UK Cabinet member Michael Gove has insisted after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon questioned whether the trip is necessary during the pandemic.

Amid signs of rising support for Scottish independence, the British Prime Minister is visiting Scotland on Thursday to argue that the Union has been integral in administering the Covid-19 vaccine, providing coronavirus testing and giving economic support.