Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has defended his decision to withdraw his demand for Boris Johnson to resign over the partygate saga.
Mr Ross said “anything else just seems trivial” compared with the war in Ukraine, saying he would support the Government in its efforts to help Ukraine defend itself against the Russian invasion.
The Prime Minister is expected to attend the Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen next week.
The SNP said his decision was an “utterly humiliating U-turn” while the Liberal Democrats said he had “the backbone of a jellyfish”.
Speaking to the BBC on Friday, Mr Ross said: “We should be supporting the Government to support the people of Ukraine, to support the government of Ukraine, because the real threat to everything at the moment is from Vladimir Putin.
“It’s not actions that took place a couple of years ago, serious though they are.
“It’s the actions that are happening right now, with people dying, children losing their lives and a country being destroyed through no fault of their own.”
He continued: “I know political opponents will criticise me for this, that’s fine.
“I’ve had to take a decision looking at what’s happening on the world scene at the moment.
“Looking at the issues that people are contacting me about or speaking about, it dominates our conversations wherever you go at the moment.
“And anything else just seems trivial, it really does seem so small in comparison to a country defending itself against atrocious actions from the Russians and Vladimir Putin.
“And that’s why I think our focus should be on supporting and helping the people in Ukraine, not on personal differences we may have with each other in the UK.”
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 here