BORIS JOHNSON is to be banned from the Scottish Tory conference in March, according to reports.

The remarkable development comes after a war of words erupted between Conservatives at Westminster and their counterparts in Scotland after Douglas Ross called for Boris Johnson to resign.

Ross, who leads the Scottish Conservatives, demanded the Prime Minister quit after he admitted on Wednesday attending a drinks party in the Number 10 garden during the first lockdown.

READ MORE: FMQs: Nicola Sturgeon's brilliant response to Tory 'disdain' for Douglas Ross

Coronavirus restrictions at the time allowed just one person to meet another outdoors. Around 30 people attended the Downing Street event on May 20, 2020 with 100 invited.

Ross's intervention prompted a furious response by UK Cabinet members with Jacob Rees Mogg and Michael Gove dismissing the Scottish Tory chief's political significance.

Mogg described Ross as a "lightweight" while Gove said he was up in "Elgin" in a reference to Ross representing the Moray constituency. Scottish Secretary Alister Jack then defended Ross saying he was "a serious figure" in an implicit attack on Mogg.

Writing on Twitter on Thursday, journalist and think tank chief Chris Deerin said: "Senior Scottish Tory tells me it is ‘inconceivable’ that Boris Johnson will speak at the party’s Scottish conference in March after the events of this week. This would be the first time the UK leader hasn’t. The Scottish party is very keen Johnson goes as quickly as poss."

Responding to the reports the SNP MP Stewart Hosie said: "The fact that the Tories can't invite their own leader to their party conference shows what a sorry state they're in. Scotland deserves better than this shambolic Westminster government.

"This bitter Tory civil war also raises questions as to whether the whole Tory government will be banned, including Scottish Secretary Alister Jack, Michael Gove, and Jacob-Rees Mogg - after they backed Boris Johnson and dismissed Douglas Ross as a 'lightweight' nobody.

The National:

"With Westminster engulfed in sleaze and corruption, the UK Government is failing to address the issues that really matter, including the Tory cost of living crisis, which will leave the majority of Scottish families hundreds or thousands of pounds worse off this year. That is utterly unacceptable and demonstrates Scotland would be much better off as an independent country."

Jack entered the Tory civil war to blast Mogg's dismissal of Ross as a "lightweight".

The Scottish Secretary said in a radio interview he tried to talk Ross out of calling for the PM to resign.

But he rounded on his fellow Cabinet minister's dismissal of Ross to reject the claim the Scottish Conservative leader is a “lightweight”.

"Over the last 48 hours I have had a number of conversation with Douglas and asked him to wait til Sue Gray reports. She is a very senior civil servant," Jack told Bauer radio.

READ MORE: Who is Sue Gray – the civil servant with power over Scotland's future

"I would say that Douglas is far from being a lightweight. He is a very serious politician. He is a very good adversary to Nicola Sturgeon. He took the Scottish Conservatives into the elections last May and not only did he hold onto all our seats, but he recorded our highest ever vote and should be well respected politician."

During the interview Jack said he backs the Prime Minister “110%”.

The attacks by Rees-Mogg and fellow Cabinet minister Michael Gove on Ross backfired spectacularly.

The SNP said the belittling of the Scottish Tory leader "made the case for independence" while a host of commentators suggested the "arrogant" remarks reflected the Conservative government's attitude towards Scotland.
Labour said the Tories were the "greatest threat to the Union".

Mogg described Ross as "not a big figure" in politics and in a later interview said he was "lightweight" while praising Scottish Secretary Alister Jack - a man chosen by the PM for his role.

The National:

Rees-Mogg said that Jack, the Scottish Secretary, “is a big figure is very supportive of the Prime Minister”... Douglas Ross has always been quite a lightweight figure.”

Gove dismissed Ross as he was "up in Elgin", a reference to the Tory representing Moray at Westminster.

The verbal assaults were issued after the Scottish Conservative chief called for Boris Johnson to resign after he admitted attending a lockdown drinks event in the Number 10 garden in May 2020.

They were swiftly noted by SNP politicians and commentators.

Responding to Rees-Mogg's description of Ross as "a lightweight", which he made on BBC's Newsnight last night, the historian Simon Schama tweeted: "Quite an achievement for Mogg on @BBCNewsnight to turn an already massive crisis into a yet bigger one, involving the Union."

Meanwhile, the SNP has accused Jack of "desperately clinging on to his ministerial job" and putting his own career interests ahead of the interests of the people of Scotland.

The SNP's Shadow Scotland Secretary Mhairi Black MP said: "Rather than putting the interests of the people of Scotland first, Alister Jack is desperately clinging on to his ministerial job and perks and putting his own career interests first. 

"In a clear snub to Douglas Ross – who was dismissed and belittled by his Westminster masters as a 'lightweight' and not a big figure – Alister Jack has played his yes man role to rule-breaking boozy party host Boris Johnson once again by shamefully falling into line and propping him up.

"The reality of this bitter civil war is that Scottish Tory MPs, including Ross and Jack, put Boris Johnson in power and gave the green light to every damaging policy this broken Tory government has imposed – from an extreme Brexit to callous cuts to Universal Credit.

"The only way to escape this corrupt, scandal-ridden Westminster system for good is by becoming an independent country."