SCOTTISH Tory leader Douglas Ross has refused to call on Boris Johnson to resign amid revelations that the PM and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have been given fines for lockdown breaches.
The Tory MP previously said that Johnson should stand down if he broke lockdown rules, and was one of the backbench MPs who sent a letter to the 1922 committee calling for the PM's resignation.
However, Ross then U-turned in March and withdrew his letter, citing the Ukraine invasion as the reason to keep Johnson in post.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to be fined over partygate scandal
And now, as the First Minister and other opposition politicians called for both Johnson and Sunak to resign - Ross has refused to join the calls.
However, STV News reports that former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, currently a Baroness in the House of Lords after being ennobled by Johnson, has said the PM should stand down having lost the "moral authority" to lead the country.
The SNP have said Ross's refusal to call on Johnson to stand down shows he "lacks the required judgment to ever be a credible leader".
Ross said he "shared the fury" of the public and that the PM's behvariour was "unacceptable" but wouldn't go as far as saying Johnson should stand down, citing the Ukraine invasion again for his reasoning.
Other Scottish Conservative MSPs have remained quiet on social media amid the reports.
In a statement, Ross said: "The public are rightly furious at what happened in Downing Street during the pandemic.
"I understand why they are angry and share their fury. The behaviour was unacceptable.
"The Prime Minister now needs to respond to these fines being issued.
"However, as I've made very clear, in the middle of war in Europe, when Vladimir Putin is committing war crimes and the UK is Ukraine's biggest ally, as President Zelensky said at the weekend, it wouldn't be right to remove the Prime Minister at this time.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon tells Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to resign over partygate fines
“It would destabilise the UK Government when we need to be united in the face of Russian aggression and the murdering of innocent Ukrainians."
We previously told how Ross was described as "having the backbone of a jellyfish" when he revoked his call for Johnson to resign in March.
Ross had called for the PM to stand down in January, and was one of a number of backbench Tory MPs who wrote letters to the 1922 committee.
In Holyrood, all 30 Tory MSPs backed Ross's resignation call, as did former-leader turned Baroness Ruth Davidson.
Davidson even made an appearance on Channel 4 and was close to tears speaking about how she felt let down by the PM's leadership.
And now, she has reportedly told STV News that Johnson should resign as "liberty-curtailing rules" imposed during the pandemic caused "huge hardship".
UPDATE: Ruth Davidson has called for the Prime Minister to resign.
— STV News (@STVNews) April 12, 2022
She said that 'liberty-curtailing rules' caused 'huge hardship'.
Davidson said Johnson 'then broke the rules he imposed on the country & lost the moral authority to lead. He should go.' https://t.co/wnzOtrdqdu
Davidson added that Johnson "then broke the rules he imposed on the country and lost the moral authority to lead. He should go".
SNP MSP Paul McLennan said: “The Partygate scandal has demonstrated without question that Douglas Ross lacks the required judgment to ever be a credible leader.
“After temporarily discovering a backbone to call for Johnson’s resignation, he quickly reverted to type by withdrawing that call so he could roll out the red carpet for his boss at a party conference.
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“No doubt his group of Tory MSPs are furious that he marched them all up a hill and has completely destroyed their credibility.
“Scotland deserves better. Thankfully, voters across the country have the chance to show the Tories exactly what they think of them in the council elections on May 5.”
Johnson clung on to power earlier this year despite repeated resignation calls and with the media's focus turned to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Ross and fellow Tory MSP's calls began to quiet.
It wasn't long before Ross said that “an international crisis is not the time to be discussing resignations".
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