RISHI Sunak’s team has criticised Liz Truss for saying it is best to “ignore” Nicola Sturgeon and that the Tories instead need a “plan to beat the SNP”.
The Foreign Secretary called the Scottish First Minister an “attention seeker” during a hustings event in Exeter on Monday night. Her comments were cheered by the packed audience of Tory members.
Truss ruled out a second referendum, again, and described herself as a “child of the Union” during the Tory leadership event.
Fellow contender Sunak was quick to join in the outrage at Truss’s comments on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the Ready4Rishi campaign said: "As members across Scotland will know, it is not good enough to simply ignore the SNP when we need a plan to beat them."
Sunak has previously pledged to be “firm” with Sturgeon if he becomes Prime Minister and she requests a Section 30 order to hold an independence referendum.
Liz Truss - "Just ignore Nicola Sturgeon... she's an attention seeker" pic.twitter.com/fpMC4HjQIe
— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) August 1, 2022
During a hustings event in Leeds, the former chancellor said there had to be more emotional arguments for the Union to counter the “seductive and romantic” appeal of independence.
In the wake of Truss’s comments, numerous Tories have come out in support of her comments.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the minister for Brexit opportunities, doubled down and attempted to justify her comments on Sky News, claiming that Sturgeon was “always moaning” and being “very often wrong”.
The Scottish Tories also tried to pivot and claim Truss’s comments were only about independence.
Chief whip Stephen Kerr, Tory MSP, tweeted that the next PM needs to work with Sturgeon on “the important issues”, adding: “The best way to do so is ignore her attention seeking Indyref2 blethering, and turn the focus on health, education, justice, climate change, etc.”
However, SNP MP Phillipa Whitford said Kerr’s attempts to change the meaning of Truss’s words showed they were in a “panic”.
Meanwhile, Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater said Truss and the Tories were showing contempt for democracy.
She said: "Liz Truss showed a total disrespect for Scotland's longest-serving First Minister and a contempt for everyone that voted for a pro-independence majority of MSPs in last year's election.
"She knows that the democratic case for a referendum is unanswerable, so she would rather patronise us and ignore us."
Truss and Sunak are due to attend a hustings in Perth on August 16, the only event in Scotland, to face Scottish members ahead of the ballot to decide the next Tory leader.
