Boris Johnson has said that former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher gave the UK a "a big early start" in its transition away from using coal as an energy source due to her having closed "so many coal mines."
Speaking on a visit to an offshore wind farm in the Moray Firth in Scotland, Johnson said: "Thanks to Margaret Thatcher, who closed so many coal mines across the country, we had a big early start and we're now moving rapidly away from coal altogether."
He added: "We're now down to less than 2%, I think it's I% of our energy comes from coal."
The BBC said that Johnson had reportedly laughed after making the comments.
In response to the comments, the SNP said that Johnson is "completely out of touch with Scotland by making unbelievably crass jokes at the expense of our mining communities".