BORIS Johnson has pronounced that the “Union is safe”, giving thanks to Alister Jack.
On Thursday, Johnson’s book Unleashed was published following weeks of promises that it would expose the true nature of what happened during his time in Downing Street.
In the memoir, Johnson takes aim at almost everyone he once considered a political ally — from Theresa May, to Rishi Sunak, to the Tory MPs who ultimately ousted him.
However, at least one person comes out of the book with a glowing review: Former Scottish secretary Alister Jack.
In a passage in which Johnson proclaims to have viewed calls for a second independence referendum with “horror”, he heaps praise upon Jack for apparently “keeping up the pressure on the Nationalists” and proclaims the “Union is safe”.
“When I became PM in 2019 my opponents were only too keen to suggest that Brexit was about to shatter the UK, and that the Scots would shortly tell the English it was all over,” he wrote.
“Week after week I was challenged in Parliament to offer a new referendum on Scottish independence.
“Every time I made the point that we had only just had such a referendum in 2014, but the pressure was real.
“As a lover and admirer of Scotland and a passionate Unionist, I viewed the whole thing with horror.
“So I am happy to say that by the end of my time the campaign was more or less dead, and I believe that Covid has actually helped us settle the question for a generation at least.
“As for Nicola, her halo slipped, and it turned out she and her husband had some questions to answer about how SNP funds were spent.
“The SNP have duly imploded and the Union is safe.
“For keeping up the pressure on the Nationalists, much credit goes to our highly effective and long-serving Scottish secretary, Alister Jack.”
It comes after John Swinney stated to the UK Covid Inquiry in January that the Scottish Government did not engage with Alister Jack during the pandemic as he “contributed nothing useful of value”.
'Westminster is out of touch and broken'
Scottish Greens co-leader and constitution spokesperson Patrick Harvie MSP said the premiership of Johnson “was a gift to independence campaigners”.
Harvie (above) said: “His repeated blunders and attempt to avoid democratic accountability whilst in Downing Street showed the entirety of Scotland how out of touch and broken the Westminster establishment is.
“From proroguing parliament to partying throughout lockdown, his disastrous tenure helped build the case for an independent Scottish republic.
“When Boris Johnson left Downing Street a lot of us breathed a sigh of relief, but we are still stuck with the disastrous Brexit he delivered and so many of the Tory policies that have plunged so many into poverty.
“It’s not just Boris Johnson we need rid of, it is the worldview and policies that he represents.”
The SNP MSP David Torrance added: "It shows how much attention Boris Johnson was paying to Scotland if he thinks that Alistair Jack was doing a good job."
