LAST week the whole world saw the awfulness of an evil leader used to acting without restraint. A man devoid of intelligence and compassion and interested only in his own survival. Committed to putting his friends first and the people last. Determined to funnel public monies to allies, while rewarding the very worst in society. A man indeed so insecure that he has surrounded himself with incompetents and jackasses. But, enough about Boris Johnson.

Putin has also put his nation in jeopardy, and he has done his utmost to make Russia a pariah in the world. Sadly, the situation in Ukraine may get worse before it improves. For all our sakes, we must hope the sanctions being applied will have the effect of bringing Putin to the ­bargaining table.

With luck, he may find taking over Ukraine a good deal more difficult than taking over the Conservative Party.

READ MORE: What are the UK Conservative Party's links to Russian money and who are the donors?

For sanctions to be effective, it is very ­important for these to be applied immediately and firmly across the board. It will just not do to give Russian banks in London and a squad of oligarchs a month’s grace, as the British ­government has done.

Of course, no-one likes to ditch their friends. For Tories this often means friends with a ­deeply dodgy past. Take this example. In 2021, Dmitri Leus donated £25,000 to then foreign secretary Dominic Raab. Leus previously served four years in prison for laundering money from ­Turkmenistan where funds were illegally ­obtained, according to Chatham House.

In terms of Russian support, the Scottish ­Tories and their Westminster counterparts, are neck-deep in roubles. If our media was any good, they ought to be neck-deep in troubles, too.

According to former Labour MP, Ian Lucas: “Russian interference goes right to the heart of British politics … Putin’s Russia has been ­directly interfering with Western politics … the Government has failed to take action, worse, it’s taken millions of pounds of donations from ­Russian organisations.”

While the Tories are very keen to accept dodgy money, they are most reluctant to accept refugees in real jeopardy. Mealy mouthed words such as “we are working on it” contrast sharply with the unrestrained welcome by Ireland and other nations.

But this meanness should come as no ­surprise. They have been blowing the ­anti-immigrant dog-whistle for years. We just got used to it. In ­Parliament this week one of these ­charmers went further. Sir Edward Leigh MP said he welcomes Priti Patel “not throwing away the immigration rule book” for Ukrainian women and children in mortal danger. He represents Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. This county has 761,000 people, with less than 6% of England’s land area and a mere 1.3% of its ­population. Leigh runs a blog called Thoughts from a ­Christian ­perspective. Some may find his views not terribly Christian.

All believers in justice will trust that a ­reckoning awaits the Tories. And they could be right. A poll this week suggests the Tories will lose all their seats in Scotland and Wales. This means in Westminster terms they could claim only to be an English party.

To be fair, the Tories always said they wished to be a one-nation party!

And this is where the matter of sovereignty becomes hugely important. Is it morally right that a party at Westminster with no representation outside England, should exercise authority over the rest of the island? Of course, we have no written constitution to guide us here. All we have is a jumble of half-forgotten precedents and dubious conventions. Even the latter ­cannot be relied upon as they are honoured more in the breach than the observance by this UK ­Government.

So, where do we stand when our governance is not working? What did others do in similar circumstances? As the saying goes those who do not study history are condemned to relive it. We need to start not from where we are, but where we need to be. Here is a basic question. Are the Scottish people sovereign? Or an institution in London? It’s a case of how you see your life.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson uncomfortable as he's asked about Russian influence on UK politics in resurfaced clip

Polls also show that scarcely 7% of Scots ­believe “Boris Johnson tells the truth”. One ­assumes most – if not all – of these myopic ­individuals are on the Government payroll.

Decent Conservatives in Scotland, at least those who are not rabid Unionists, must be ­appalled by this turn of events. They want right-of-centre policies; not ethics – free governance. To all intents and purposes, Global Britain has become Little England.

We learn that the benighted Gavin Williamson has been knighted. When colossal and repeated failure is rewarded in this way, the whole world can see the UK has become a moral cesspit.

Tommy Sheridan is this week’s guest on the TNT show. Join us on IndyLive at 7pm on Wednesday