Douglas Ross defends decision to withdraw call for PM to quit

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.”