THE leader of the Scottish Tories in Glasgow is being encouraged by the SNP to break ranks and demand Boris Johnson’s resignation.
It comes after the Prime Minister was fined for attending his rule-breaking birthday party, held in the Cabinet room in June 2020 while coronavirus restrictions were in place.
Despite calling for Johson to go earlier this year, Douglas Ross says the war in Ukraine now means it is not the right time for a change in leadership.
The SNP’s business manager in Glasgow, councillor Greg Hepburn, is calling on Tory chief Thomas Kerr to clarify his own stance.
He said: “Douglas Ross has shown that the Scottish Tories do not have the spine to stand up to their bosses in Westminster. The people of Glasgow deserve to know whether Thomas Kerr and his Tory colleagues will be backing the first Prime Minister to have broken the law while in office. A Prime Minister we now know has lied to Parliament, presided over a disastrous cost of living increase and taken the public for fools.”
Hepburn continued: “Across Glasgow people followed the guidance and stayed away from friends and loved ones, in some tragic cases being unable to attend the funerals of those who passed away. They will rightly be asking why they should back a party that believes it is one rule for them and another rule for everyone else.
“Thomas Kerr wrote that this election was not about Boris Johnson, if he is confident in that he will have no problem making clear to Glaswegians where he and his group stand on Boris Johnson’s future as Prime Minister.”
The Scottish Conservatives have been approached for comment.
READ MORE: Scottish Tories rage at Jason Leitch for defending Nicola Sturgeon in mask row
Johnson is understood to have been present for at least six of the 12 events being investigated by the Metropolitan Police for breaking Covid rules, and is braced for more fines potentially to come.
It is understood he is likely to make a statement to the Commons on Tuesday. A close ally of the Prime Minister told the Times that while Johnson accepts “mistakes were made”, he still does not believe he technically broke the rules.
The call to the Tory leader in Glasgow comes as the Scottish Tories hit out at Nicola Sturgeon over Covid rules.
The First Minister was filmed while not wearing a mask during a campaign visit to a hairdressers. The SNP said she realised her error “within a few seconds” and put the covering back on.
A Police Scotland confirmed a complaint about the matter is being “assessed”.
National clinical director Jason Leitch defended the SNP leader, saying her mask was only off for “a matter of seconds”.
His comments sparked a pile on from Conservatives.
MSP Craig Hoy said: "Mr Leitch is also misrepresenting the Covid laws as they stood when Nicola Sturgeon clearly broke them at the weekend.”
At the time of Sturgeon’s visit to the barbers on Saturday, there was a legal requirement to wear face coverings in most indoor public places in Scotland, including shops, public transport and hairdressers. That rule moved into guidance on Monday.
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