Boris Johnson makes first official visit to Cumbria as Prime Minister

Boris Johnson has been in Cumbria today, making his first official trip to the county as Prime Minister.

He visited the Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria, on the site of the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.

This centre opened in August last year and was the subject of debate online after Health Secretary Sajid Javid referred to it in a tweet as one of the 48 hospitals the government had committed to opening. Several people replied to this post saying that a the unit was a cancer treatment centre and not a hospital.

The Department of Health issued a statement defending the remark and clarifying its definition of a hospital.

Today though, Mr Johnson described it as a "cancer centre" and an "oncology centre" rather than a hospital when interviewed by ITV Border.

• Interview by Tom Sheldrick

Mr Johnson was in the city as part of a tour during the parliamentary recess designed to highlight the government's levelling up agenda.

He said: "The investment we're making through things like the towns fund and improving policing in the area, what it is doing is driving business investment as well."

Earlier in the day he had been in Scotland, following the announcement of plans to create "green freeports" north of the border. Cairnryan in Dumfries and Galloway is a potential candidate for this initiative.

He had also attended an emergency Cobra meeting on the situation in Ukraine. He had been due to spend tomorrow in Cumbria but this crisis will see him cut his trip short.

The "partygate" scandal has dominated coverage of the Prime Minister over the last few months and he is hoping to refocus attention.

Here were some opinions on his performance in Carlisle.

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