DOUGLAS Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, has called for Boris Johnson to step down as Prime Minister after he admitted to attending a "bring your own booze" event in the No 10 garden.
The Moray MP's calls follow an admission from the Prime Minister that he spent 25 minutes at a staff event at No 10 when lockdown rules forbade such gatherings.
Speaking at PMQs, Johnson claimed that he had "believed implicitly" that it had been a work event, and said he wanted to apologise for the "rage" he understood the public felt.
Ross was interviewed by STV's Colin Mackay after Johnson's appearance at Westminster.
Asked what he believed the Prime Minister should do next, Ross replied: "I said yesterday that if the Prime Minister attended this gathering or party or event at Downing Street on the 20th of May, then he could not continue as prime minister.
"So, regretfully, I have to say that his position is no longer tenable."
READ MORE: Boris Johnson apology: What does the wording of the PM's statement really tell us?
The Scottish Tory boss went on: "What we also heard from the Prime Minister today was an apology. He said with hindsight he would have done things differently, which for me is an acceptance from the Prime Minister that it was wrong.
"Therefore, and I don’t want to be in this position but I am in this position now where I don’t think he can continue as leader of the Conservatives."
Asked if he had made his views clear to Johnson, Ross said: “I spoke to the Prime Minister this afternoon. I set out my reasons and I explained to him my position.”
The Scottish Tory leader - who sits as a backbench MP - also said he would write to the 1922 Committee to express no confidence in Johnson's leadership. A total of 54 MPs would need to do so in order to trigger a leadership challenge.
However, Ross said that he believed the Prime Minister would ignore his calls to step down and continue in post regardless.
Ross had previously supported Johnson, publicly voting for him to lead the UK Tories during the leadership election of 2019. Asked if he regretted that, Ross said: "No, I don't."
He said it had been a "pride and a privilege" to serve under Johnson as a minister, a role Ross quit in the wake of the news that Dominic Cummings drove hundreds of miles with Covid symptoms - just six days after the No 10 BYOB party.
His change of heart has been supported by senior Scottish Tories including Murdo Fraser (above).
Fraser wrote on Twitter: "I fully support [Ross] in this call. I’m afraid the Prime Minister’s position is no longer tenable, he has lost public trust, and in the interests of the country and the Conservative Party he should step down."
Former party leader Jackson Carlaw said Ross had "made the right call and that the PM should stand down".
At the time of writing, the other Tory MSPs to have told Johnson to step down are: Liz Smith, Miles Briggs, Craig Hoy, Douglas Lumsden, Tess White, Finlay Carson, Sharon Dowey, Meghan Gallacher, Russell Findlay, Donald Cameron, Annie Wells and Jeremy Balfour.
The calls from the Scots Tories mean they have aligned with the SNP, Labour, and the LibDems in calling for Johnson to step down over the scandal.
First revealed by the Prime Minister's former chief aide, Dominic Cummings, the news of a party held at No 10 on May 20, 2020 has snowballed into a crisis which threatens to end Johnson's rule.
READ MORE: 'Drinks at my bit?': Scots mock Downing Street BYOB bash with huge party invite
Around 100 people were invited to "bring your own booze" to the event in the Prime Minister's garden, with a Tory MP claiming the party had been thrown as a "welcome back" for Johnson.
Lawyers have said that Johnson's claim he believed it to be a work event would be "laughed out of court".
ITV political editor Robert Peston said he had heard that Carrie Johnson, the Prime Minister's wife, was seen at the party drinking gin.
Johnson's press secretary refused to deny that the Prime Minister had had a drink, or taken a bottle, to the party.
The Scottish Tory leader said that such an event was "by any definition a party".
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