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Jenny Hjul said the Scottish National Party have “spotted an opportunity even in adversity” during the coronavirus pandemic to “drive” the Union “apart”. In a scathing attack, Ms Hjul said Scots have “had enough” of the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s tactics because all four UK nations have “gone through it together” during the COVID-19 crisis.

Writing for the Courier, she said: “Sturgeon may dream about relocating Scotland to the antipodes or the South Pacific, but our attachment to England is indelible, and not just physically.

“We all want much the same wherever we live – trustworthy advice from the top, based on good sense, not political expediency, and then the freedom to make our own mistakes.

“But our SNP leaders have spotted an opportunity even in adversity. While aspects of the lockdown joined Britons in a Blitz spirit – the nationwide applause for the NHS and the shared experience of rationed groceries – the nationalists bided their time.

“Now they are trying to drive us apart as the disease retreats, hanging on to its last vestiges to create a “them and us” that doesn’t exist.

“We have had enough. COVID has not discriminated between Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, we have gone through it together.”

Her comments come after an explosive row erupted between Holyrood and Westminster when Ms Sturgeon refused to back the UK Government’s air bridge plans and failed to rule out imposing quarantining people who had travelled to England.

Britain will end coronavirus quarantines for people arriving in England from more than 50 countries, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

But Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, set their own health policies within the UK and have not announced plans to lift the measures.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps’ department was unable to convince the devolved administrations to sign off on the plan before it was made public.

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Ms Sturgeon said the UK Government’s decision-making on air bridges had been “shambolic”.

Speaking during the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing, she said: “When so much is at stake as it is right now we can’t allow ourselves to be dragged along in the wake of, to be quite frank about it, another government’s shambolic decision process.”

“We want to welcome visitors again from around the world and we also want to allow our own citizens to travel.

“We also want, if possible for obvious practical reasons, to have alignment on these matters with the rest of the UK.”

She said it has been “really challenging” for Scotland to come to a position on the UK Government proposals with speed.

It comes amid claims Ms Sturgeon is trying to usurp the authority in Westminster by breaking away from the UK-wide strategy to tackle COVID-19.

Critics have accused Ms Sturgeon of spreading mixed messages and promoting a Nationalist agenda.

The SNP leader has repeatedly broken from the UK’s strategy to fight against the invisible killer disease.

She was previously accused of playing party politics by announcing decisions in relation to a COBRA meeting ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

And raised eyebrows when she set up a Scottish volunteer scheme instead of a UK-wide scheme and has named the UK-funded NHS hospital after a

Scottish nurse instead of NHS Nightingale Glasgow.

Meanwhile, the SNP leader stunned officials in Downing Street when went her own way when Mr Johnson announced his plans to ease lockdown restrictions.

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