BORIS Johnson has said he would prioritise keeping the Union together over Brexit if he had to choose between the two.
But on a campaign tour in Glasgow the leadership front-runner said he believed he can secure a “good, sensible, pragmatic” Brexit deal that will strengthen the Union.
And he said once Brexit is implemented the Scottish nationalists’ push for independence will weaken because Scotland rejoining the EU will evaporate because voters won’t want to join the Euro, the border-free Schengen zone and “the whole panoply of EU laws”.
And Mr Johnson said: “Is it going to be the centrepiece of the SNP’s campaign that Scotland having just got back control of their incredible fisheries that they should hand it over to Brussels?
“It doesn’t sound like the winning formula to me.
“Far from weakening the Union, a good sensible Brexit would spike the guns of the SNP and strengthen the Union.”
Asked if he would prioritise Brexit or the Union he replied: ‘The Union must come first and I believe also, as it happens, that a good sensible, pragmatic Brexit will strengthen the Union.
Mr Johnson added: “I’m a passionate Unionist. I will defend it, fight for it with every fibre of my being and every breath in my body. The Union comes first.”
Leaders in London, Belfast, Dublin and Brussels are keen to avoid a “hard border” after Brexit – when the UK has vowed to leave the single market and customs union.
This would mean border checks being reintroduced to monitor movement between jurisdictions operating under the two different regulatory systems.
There were fears this would jeopardise the Good Friday Agreement peace deal and in turn the Union.
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