Exclusive:Scotland 'a priority' for Keir Starmer ahead of Holyrood election, says Labour cabinet minister

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said Sir Keir will be in Scotland on “multiple occasions” ahead of next year’s Holyrood election.

Mr Jones, who is also the minister for intergovernmental relations, was speaking ahead of a visit to Edinburgh for the Scottish Investment Summit.

When asked if Scotland was a priority for Sir Keir, Mr Jones told The Scotsman: “It's definitely a priority for the Prime Minister, and it's a priority for the whole government and the Labour Party.

“This is my first official visit in my in my new role, and obviously we've got a number of ministers coming up this week, in particular from across government, and you'll be seeing a lot more of us.”

When asked if Sir Keir would be coming to Scotland ahead of next year’s Holyrood election, Mr Jones said: “Yeah, you'll definitely be seeing him. You’ll probably see him on multiple occasions, I would expect, between now and May.”

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Mr Jones said the UK government was “constantly making the case for Scotland” and that businesses would like to invest more in the country.

He said: “We definitely want Scotland to see more [investment]. There is no question about that whatsoever. That's why we're all coming up to the Investment Summit, in order to be as helpful as possible to building those relationships.

“Where we do have meetings with investors here in London, we're constantly making the case for Scotland as well, because of the enormous potential there is, not just on defence and energy, but also energy's relationship with the digital economy and digital infrastructure.

“And as I said before, on financial services, life sciences, the gaming industry. I mean, there's a whole load of stuff happening in Scotland, which is brilliant, and can be even more brilliant if we unlock all of that investment.”

Mr Jones continued: “I think the deals that have been unlocked so far show the appetite for investors to invest in Scotland, and the fact that they'd like to do more of it, which, as I say, we're all going to be working together to try to unlock.”

The trip to Scotland is Mr Jones’s first official visit since taking up his new job last month. He will be joined by Scotland Office minister Kirsty McNeill and Treasury ministers Lucy Rigby and Jason Stockwood.

As part of his Minister for Intergovernmental Relations role, Mr Jones will be meeting with Scottish Government figures regularly.

He has already met First Minister John Swinney, has spoken with Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes virtually and will meet her in person during his visit.

When asked how often he will meet Scottish Government ministers, Mr Jones said: “Formally, at least quarterly, but probably more often than that.”

When asked how the meetings had gone so far, Mr Jones said: “I’ve only had my introduction meetings with everyone so far because it was only three weeks ago that the reshuffle happened.”

Mr Jones will also visit City of Glasgow College to meet apprentices who will go on to build new warships in the Clyde for BAE Systems. He will also visit the UK Cabinet Office’s second HQ, which is in Glasgow.