Nicola Sturgeon's deputy slapped down Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham today amid a furious row over a ban on people from the city visiting Scotland.
John Swinney said that the move by the SNP government to block Mancunians from visiting was 'justified' by the city region's spiking Covid case rate.
His comments came after Mr Burnham, a former Labour minister, had accused Ms Sturgeon of being a hypocrite for blocking travel while allowing thousands of Scots to descend on London for Friday's Euro 2020 game against England.
The Greater Manchester mayor demanded compensation for holidaymakers and businesses affected, saying extraordinary scenes with crowds of Scots supporters failing to socially distance in London showed her 'double standards'.
But speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Mr Swinney said: 'In our judgment, the rising case numbers and the high levels of the virus in the Greater Manchester and Salford area justified the decision we took and we are taking that to try and minimise the circulation of the virus.'
The Deputy First Minister also said Mr Burnham's call for compensation is not 'a relevant point' as business support is already available in England.
John Swinney said that the move by the SNP government to block Mancunians from visiting was 'justified' by the city region's spiking Covid case rate.
Mr Burnham, a former Labour minister, had accused Ms Sturgeon of being a hypocrite for blocking travel while allowing thousands of Scots to descend on London for Friday's Euro 2020 game against England.
Mr Burnham said the extraordinary scenes with crowds of Scots supporters failing to socially distance in London on Friday night (pictured) showed 'double standards'
'When questioned about the last-minute nature of the ban, he added: 'That is something we will reflect on but we put in place very similar provisions in relation to Bolton, which is part of the Greater Manchester area, back in May, and we've just followed exactly the same approach in relation to this decision.'
He continued: 'We have in place, in Scotland, business support that we have made available to companies to try and sustain them, there will be support in place
