SCOTTISH Tory MSP Oliver Mundell has said it would be “completely inappropriate” to comment on Boris Johnson’s partying during lockdown due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
Mundell, the Scottish Conservatives’ education spokesperson, told ITV’s Representing Border that “most people” would not want to talk about partygate given Russia’s invasion.
Instead, he praised the Prime Minister for “showing real leadership in helping people in Ukraine”.
Mundell told ITV: “It would be completely inappropriate to comment on [partygate]. I think most people want to see the Prime Minister get on with his job for now.
“Those issues are not going away, but I think for now, most people would find it quite an odd time to comment on partygate.”
The Scottish Tory remained silent on Johnson’s Covid rule breaches, even after he admitted attending a “bring your own booze” party during lockdown to which around 100 people were invited.
Asked why he hadn’t spoken up previously to call for Johnson’s resignation, like the significant majority of his MSP colleagues and Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, Mundell said he had chosen not to.
NEW: Oliver Mundell says it would be 'completely inappropriate' to comment on #partygate during #Ukraine crisis.
— Representing Border (@ITVBorderRB) March 2, 2022
He says Boris Johnson's showing 'real leadership' & should focus on Ukraine.
Most other Scottish Conservatives backed Douglas Ross's call for Prime Minister to quit pic.twitter.com/S056X0m8W6
Pushed on the topic, Mundell continued to speak about Ukraine. He said he would be happy to answer more questions on the Prime Minister’s partygate scandal once “the peak of a horrendous, horrendous situation” had passed in Ukraine.
“Clearly, I have confidence in the Prime Minister in terms of getting us through the biggest international crisis we've faced in a generation, since the Second World War,” he said.
The news comes as Johnson faces further pressure to deal with the rivers of “dirty” Russian money flowing into Tory coffers.
YouGov polling released on Wednesday evening shows that a plurality of Brits now think Johnson is handling the Ukraine invasion "well".
A total of 44% of the 1690 adults asked said the Prime Minister was doing a good job with the crisis, up eight points from the 36% who gave that answer last week.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel