Johnson writes to congratulate Sturgeon on election success

Boris Johnson has written to Nicola Sturgeon to congratulate her on the SNP’s success in the Scottish Parliamentary election.

In a letter, the Prime Minister highlighted the UK response to the coronavirus pandemic and the roll out of the vaccine programme in recent months.

And Johnson invited Sturgeon to a summit meeting to “discuss our shared challenges and how we can work together”.

In the letter, he wrote: “I believe passionately that the interests of people across the UK and in particular the people of Scotland are best served when we work together. We have shown that through the vaccine roll-out.

“The UK Government’s ability to procure vaccines at scale has benefited people in all parts of our country.

“The dedicated and hardworking staff of NHS Scotland have ensured jabs have been put into arms from Gretna to John o’Groats.

“This is Team UK in action, and I recommit the United Kingdom Government to working with the Scottish Government in this cooperative spirit.”

The Prime Minister said that overcoming the challenges raised from the pandemic will require a “spirit of unity and cooperation”.

He wrote: “While the UK’s broad shoulders have supported jobs and businesses the length of the country, we know that economic recovery will be a serious shared responsibility because the pandemic’s damage runs deep.

“Covid-19 has also posed significant challenges for our public services, from hours of lost school learning, to backlogs in the NHS and courts.

“Overcoming them will require us to show the same spirit of unity and cooperation that marked our fight against the pandemic.”

Johnson added: “To that end, and reflecting your commitment to focus on recovery, I would like to invite you to join me, UK Government colleagues and others at a summit meeting to discuss our shared challenges and how we can work together in the coming months and years to overcome them.

“I will be writing in similar terms to the First Minister of Wales, and the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland.

“We will all have our own perspectives and ideas – and we will not always agree – but I am confident that by learning from each other we will be able to build back better, in the interests of the people we serve.”