Boris Johnson: Westminster is ‘an England-only parliament’

“I’m not convinced there is a case for an England-only parliament,” he said in comments reported by the National. “We have an England-only parliament. It’s Westminster. It’s been there for a long time. I’m not disposed to create another parliament.”

Johnson also said he would use some of the £5 million Westminster spends every year on advertising to put “a Union flag” on any money spent in Scotland. He said it was “ridiculous” that the devolved government was “claiming the credit” for “what was really a scheme or investment from the UK”.

“Let’s flag it up properly,” he said. “Let’s put a Union flag on this stuff and not let it be claimed by the Scot Nats.”

He also said that he would not grant another independence referendum for Scotland, saying that it was a “once in a generation” event and he could see “no reason at all in going over that again”.

He would also look at creating a “unit for the Union” in No 10 and would be announcing something today to “enhance and support the Union”.

“I think if Nicola Sturgeon – and I want to be polite here but deranged springs to mind – were to impose a hard border on people coming from the rest of the UK to Scotland or goods and services coming from the rest of the UK to Scotland it would be absurd,” he said.

“But of course we will not be doing any such thing. We will impose no borders ourselves nor do I think for a second that anything like that will happen.

“One of the advantages of Brexit– and I don’t think people fully understand this – is that far from threatening the Union Brexit, if it is done right and sensibly, is going to cement and intensify our great Union, the awesome foursome of our country.”