DOUGLAS Ross has said that Boris Johnson does not have his "unqualified support" to continue as Prime Minister - suggesting the only reason he continues to back him is the war in Ukraine.
The Scottish Conservative leader, who is also an MP at Westminster, does not think the Prime Minister should resign following the publication of Sue Gray’s damning report into partygate.
Ms Gray found that Mr Johnson and his staff repeatedly held gatherings in No.10 during the pandemic, despite it being against the laws set by the UK Government.
She added that senior leaders “must bear responsibility for this culture” which allowed this to happen.
When the Prime Minister’s involvement in partygate first emerged, Mr Ross called for him to resign. But he performed a U-turn on his position days before Mr Johnson was due to appear at the Scottish Conservative conference – pointing to the importance of his leadership amid the war in Ukraine.
Earlier this week, when photographs emerged of the Prime Minister holding a drink at one lockdown-breaking event, Mr Ross stressed an explanation was required.
Speaking to Sky News after the report was published, Mr Ross admitted that it “reveals details that no-one can be comfortable with”.
He said: “It is a very damaging report that highlights a culture that’s not acceptable at any time, let alone at time when the rest of us were locked down – when we were following the guidance provided by the Government itself to keep us all safe.
“I did say the Prime Minister's position was untenable back in January and the only thing for me that’s changed since then is the war in Ukraine. I understand and accept some people won’t agree with that position.”
Addressing the war in Ukraine, Mr Ross warned that he didn’t think “we provide them with that support if we destabilise the UK by removing the Prime Minister and going into a very long election battle to find a replacement”.
He stressed that the conflict “has only been my only reason to continue to withdraw my letter” to the 1922 Committee.
He said: “The Prime Minister doesn’t have my unqualified support. It has been because of the situation in Ukraine.
“My position changed because of the war in Ukraine and that is the only thing that changed it.”
Asked if he will call for the Prime Minister to resign when the Ukraine conflict is resolved, he said: “Then I think he should step down.
“If the war in Ukraine is over, then the Prime Minister doesn’t have the same support he has at the moment – not just from me but from other MPs who previously called for him to resign and go.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel