IAN Blackford has accused Boris Johnson of being “utterly reckless” after visiting a Scottish vaccine lab which had been hit by a coronavirus outbreak.

The Prime Minister, during his whistle-stop trip last week, toured the Valneva production facility in Livingston – despite Downing Street having been warned that 14 Covid cases had been identified at the plant the day before.

Pressed on the issue in the Commons, the Tory leader has claimed he hadn’t been informed of the concerns.

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: “What an absolute shambles – that he’s gone to a plant where there was a Covid outbreak. The Prime Minister can’t just explain away this absolutely shocking error of judgement.

“Anyone can see that his campaign trip to Scotland was utterly, utterly reckless.”

READ MORE: Boris Johnson visited Scots vaccine lab despite being warned of Covid outbreak

He added: “The Prime Minister and his advisers knew there was a serious outbreak at this plant. They knew the visit posed a risk, but they made a deliberate choice. They made the irresponsible choice.

“The Prime Minister put politics before public health.”

The Skye and Lochaber MP asked: “Why be so reckless? Is it any wonder that people in Scotland have no faith in this Prime Minister?

“Isn’t he the worst possible leader at the worst possible time?”

Johnson dismissed the question, insisting Scots want to see the UK “pulling together” as he talked up the Valneva vaccine.

The Prime Minister then claimed that he was not aware of the coronavirus outbreak.

“Nobody raised that issue with me before or since,” he stated. “It is my job to visit every part of this country. Nothing and no-one is going to stop me.”

Valneva’s chief financial officer, David Lawrence, said Downing Street had been "made aware" of the virus outbreak at the factory ahead of the trip.

A UK Government spokesperson commented: “The visit to the Valneva Livingston plant was Covid-compliant. Valneva had approved all aspects of the visit from a safety perspective and the site director is comfortable that no risks were taken."

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Responding to Blackford, Johnson again referred to the SNP as the Scottish “nationalist” party as he concluded his remarks, despite having been told on several occasions by the Speaker to use the correct name.

He added that the UK Government’s offer of additional vaccine roll-out support remains on the table.

That comes after Alister Jack said Westminster stood ready to help “accelerate” Holyrood’s vaccine programme.

However, the Scottish Government insists its scheme has already achieved “greater depth in the programme than in England”.