'I'm Prime Minister of the WHOLE country': Boris Johnson defends trip to Scotland after being reported to police by nationalists - as he attacks Nicola Sturgeon and independence supporters who 'talk endlessly about another referendum'

• Police Scotland said it had received several complaints about today's trip 
• He visited the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow this morning
• He later met British Army soldiers setting up a vaccination centre in Castlemilk 
• Police said it was a 'working visit' and 'we are policing the event appropriately'

Boris Johnson defended his decision to visit Scotland during lockdown today as he defied nationalist demands for a new independence referendum.

The Prime Minister said he travelled 'in my capacity as Prime Minister of the whole country' after visiting Glasgow to highlight the UK-wide fight against coronavirus.

His comments came after it was revealed separatists had reported him to Police Scotland over his flight from London this morning - with officers clearing him to undertake the 'working visit'.

He used the trip to slap down demands from Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP for a new referendum to capitalise on a surge in support for independence.

A series of surveys have put backing for breaking up the UK at up to 57 per cent - with the nationalists demanding a fresh referendum as early as this year and threatening to hold a 'wildcat' vote if Mr Johnson does not give permission. 

But speaking to broadcasters today Mr Johnson said 'the very same people who … go on and on about another referendum also said only a few years ago in 2014 that this was a once in a generation event'.

'I don't think that the right thing to do is to talk endlessly about another referendum when I think what the people of the country want, what the people of Scotland want in particular, is for us to fight this pandemic,' he said.

'It's great to see everything that Scotland is contributing to the national effort, it's quite amazing. I think what people want to see is us bouncing back more strongly together.

'I don't see the advantage in us getting lost in pointless constitutional wrangling when, after all, we had a referendum not so very long ago.' 

The SNP responded to Mr Johnson's trip by tweeting a picture of him arriving at Glasgow Airport, with the caption: 'Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.'

Meanwhile Jacob Rees-Mogg called Ms Sturgeon 'Moanalot' following her remarks that Boris Johnson's trip to Scotland is not an essential journey. 

Mr Johnson is extolling the virtues of the union amid alarm that the separatist case has been gaining traction, with polls showing Ms Sturgeon is seen as having handled the pandemic much better. 

He was shown around the 'Lighthouse' hub for PCR samples at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital this morning and later met British Army soldiers setting up a vaccination centre in Castlemilk.

The SNP decried the trip as that of 'a Prime Minister in panic', but  Number 10 defended the visit, with a spokesman saying such trips were a 'fundamental part' of his job.  

The PM insisted the UK's response to the pandemic - including the huge vaccine rollout - showed the value of the union as he travelled north of the border despite the First Minister swiping that it is not an 'essential' trip.

As the government hammers home the case for staying together, it has been announced that a vaccine plant is getting up and running in Scotland that could supply the UK with 60million doses by the end of the year.  

Police Scotland said it had received several complaints after the Prime Minister  flew from London in an RAF jet to Glasgow in defiance of Ms Sturgeon's warning to stay away.

But it said that Mr Johnson's trip was a 'working visit in his official capacity as Prime Minister' of the United Kingdom, and officers were 'policing the event appropriately'.

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove batted away criticism of the jaunt this morning, saying Mr Johnson wanted to thank frontline workers who were battling the virus. 'He is the Prime Minister of the whole United Kingdom,' Mr Gove said. 

Meanwhile, Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg branded the SNP leader 'Moanalot' - pointing out she had also complained about Royals going to Scotland. 

Downing Street plans to stress the benefits of being in the UK for Scotland, with Mr Johnson highlighting the support afforded Scots during the Covid-19 crisis.

Officials said the UK Government had delivered more than one million rapid lateral flow test kits to Scotland so far and is funding testing sites across the country - including seven drive-through centres, 27 walk-through sites and 21 mobile testing units, along with the Lighthouse Lab in Glasgow.

Westminster cash has provided 62 per cent of testing kits in Scotland, Number 10 added.

Speaking ahead of his visit to Scotland, the Prime Minister said: 'The great benefits of co-operation across the whole of the UK have never been clearer than since the beginning of this pandemic.

'We have pulled together to defeat the virus, providing £8.6 billion to the Scottish Government to support public services whilst also protecting the jobs of more than 930,000 citizens in Scotland.

'We have a vaccine programme developed in labs in Oxford being administered across the United Kingdom by our armed forces, who are helping to establish 80 new vaccine centres across Scotland.

'That's how we are delivering for the people of Scotland so we can ensure the strongest possible recovery from the virus.

'Mutual co-operation across the UK throughout this pandemic is exactly what the people of Scotland expect and it is what I have been focused on.

'The people of the UK have stood together during this pandemic: from our doctors and nurses in our hospitals to our shop workers, scientists, lorry drivers and teachers - working together as one truly United Kingdom is the best way to build our Covid recovery.'

In a round of interviews this morning, Mr Gove defended Mr Johnson's trip to Scotland during lockdown restrictions.

He told Sky News: 'The Prime Minister has a responsibility and a role to make sure the vaccine roll-out is proceeding appropriately, to thank those on the front line, NHS professionals and those in the British Army who are making sure things work well.

'It's also important the Prime Minister hears from those on the front line what is going well and what needs to improve.

'When the Prime Minister visits other parts of the United Kingdom, other political leaders don't criticise him, indeed there is a welcome for the Prime Minister and other ministers who are rolling up their sleeves and are getting in touch with those on the ground who are making a difference.'

He insisted all UK nations are 'stronger together when we work together', highlighting the vaccine roll-out.

The visit comes as the SNP ramps up calls for a second independence vote - even though the previous one in 2014 was billed by both sides as 'once in a generation'.

Ms Sturgeon is arguing that should her SNP group win a majority at the Holyrood elections - due to happen in May - it would be grounds for a new border poll.

She has accused the Conservative Party leader of being 'frightened of democracy' in his refusal to back another poll on the union, following 2014's independence defeat.

The government announced today that large-scale manufacturing of a coronavirus vaccine candidate expected to deliver up to 60million doses to the UK by the end of this year if approved has begun in Scotland.

Clinical trials are still ongoing for the Valneva vaccine candidate but manufacturing has started at the French biotech company's site in Livingston, West Lothian.

As well as the 60million initial doses, the UK has the option to acquire a further 130 million if it is approved.

The candidate is currently in phase one/two trials and will need approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before it is rolled out.

Initial results from the ongoing clinical study, involving 150 participants at testing sites in Bristol, Southampton, Birmingham and Newcastle, are expected in April.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said that manufacturing the vaccine now means it can be rolled out quicker if it receives regulatory approval.

It follows a joint investment in the Livingston facility by the Government as part of an agreement to secure early access to the jab, according to the Government.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines are currently being rolled out across the UK, with Government data showing more than 7.1 million people have received their first vaccine dose.

Valneva will potentially have the capacity to supply up to 250 million doses of the inactivated whole virus vaccine – containing whole bacteria or viruses which have been killed – to the UK and internationally if successful.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: 'By starting manufacturing, we will have a running start at rolling these out as quickly as possible to protect the British public if it receives regulatory approval.

'This facility in Scotland, backed by millions from the Government, will help us beat coronavirus and boost our resilience against future pandemics.'

The facility will establish a permanent UK ability to manufacture inactivated viral vaccines, a type which is also used for flu, polio and rabies jabs, according to the BEIS.

Valneva chief executive Thomas Lingelbach said: 'Our team in Scotland have done an amazing job to get manufacturing started so quickly.

'We believe that our vaccine, assuming successful development, can make a major contribution in the UK and beyond.'

SNP depute leader Keith Brown said the PM's trip was evidence that he was in a 'panic' about the prospect of another referendum.

The MSP said: 'Clearly, Boris Johnson is rattled. By branding this campaign trip as 'essential', this is clearly a Prime Minister in panic, who knows the Tories are losing the argument on independence.

'Twenty polls in a row have shown that a majority of voters believe Scotland's future should be in Scotland's hands - not Boris Johnson's.'