Boris Johnson arrived in Scotland for a week-long holiday today, amid a furious response to the downgrading of A-level results in England.
The prime minister will be north of the border with fiancée Carrie Symonds and their son, Wilfred, for a “staycation” until Monday, Downing Street has confirmed.
His spokesman would not say where in Scotland Mr Johnson would be holidaying, but past Conservative prime ministers David Cameron and Margaret Thatcher were known to enjoy breaks in Jura, off the west coast, and Stirlingshire.
The government will continue to work hard to come up with the fairest system possible.”
Prime minister’s spokesman
Mr Johnson’s trip came as pupils and teachers in England continued to protest about the results awarded following the cancellation of exams, with senior Conservatives demanding the government resolve the “shambles”.
The A-level debacle has led many MPs to demand ministers delay the publication of GCSE results, due on Thursday, until the problems have been resolved.
The prime minister chaired a call from Scotland this morning with the education secretary and senior officials and will “continue to receive updates and briefings as necessary”, Number 10 said.
Asked why lessons were not learned from the Scottish results fiasco, in which more than 120,000 Scottish exam grades were reinstated following days of protests, the prime minister’s spokesman said: “We recognise this has being an incredibly difficult year for pupils.
“The government will continue to work hard to come up with the fairest system possible.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called on the prime minister to cancel his holiday and take “personal responsibility” for fixing the issue, accusing him of having been “invisible” throughout the turmoil.
Responding to the demand, Mr Johnson’s spokesman pointed to this morning’s call between the prime minister and education secretary Gavin Williamson and said “we continue to work to have fairest system possible”.