Douglas Ross: Boris Johnson should resign if he misled parliament over Christmas party

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has said Prime Minister Boris Johnson should resign if he misled parliament over whether a Christmas party was held at Downing Street.

Speaking to the BBC, Ross said it would be “completely unacceptable” had the prime minister misled the House of Commons over the affair.

His comments came as Allegra Stratton, the prime minister's spokeswoman, resigned after appearing in a leaked video from last year in which Number 10 staff appeared to discuss the party. 

Senior Scottish Conservative figures are said to be “furious” at the prime minister over allegations several parties were held in Downing Street in December last year, against lockdown restrictions.

Following a bruising Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, during which Labour leader Keir Starmer took Johnson to task over the growing scandal over lockdown parties at Downing Street, Scottish Conservatives have been reacting with dismay.

Speaking to STV earlier, Ross said Johnson “has serious questions to answer” and that “there was a party of sorts”.

The Moray MP and Highlands and Islands MSP said: “From what I’ve seen, there was a party of sorts.

“[Boris Johnson] said there wasn’t a party.

“There was a party of sorts, I wasn’t involved, I wasn’t invited, I wasn’t there but just look at what we’ve seen since then, there was a party of sorts and that was against the guidance last year.

“If people within Downing Street did not follow their own advice then the appropriate action and strong action must be taken.”

Former Scottish leader, Baroness Ruth Davidson has also said her former colleagues are “furious”.

In a tweet, the former Edinburgh Central MSP said: “None of this is remotely defensible. Not having busy, boozy not-parties while others were sticking to the rules, unable to visit ill or dying loved ones.

“Nor flat-out denying things that are easily provable. Not taking the public for fools.

“And today's ‘we'll investigate what we've spent a week saying didn't happen and discipline staff for rules we continue to say weren't broken’ was pathetic. As a Tory, I was brought up to believe in playing with a straight bat. Believe me, colleagues are furious at this, too.”

Former Glasgow MSP Adam Tomkins also took to Twitter to voice his anger, writing: “It is one of the fundamentals of who we are that the same rules apply to the governed and the government alike. That it is so-called conservatives who appear to have lost sight of this is beyond contemptible.

“I’m reminded of what the peerless Tom Stoppard said when he was asked what he most dislikes: ‘conservatives who do not conserve’, he said.”

The SNP group leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford, took the opportunity at PMQs to call for Johnson’s resignation.

In the Commons, Blackford warned that the country faced a "challenging moment in this pandemic" and that when "trust in leadership is a matter of life and death... the Prime Minister is responsible for losing the trust of the people."

Speaking afterwards, Blackford said: "We are standing on the cliff edge of yet another challenging moment in this pandemic - with Omicron cases rising at a rapid rate. Over the coming weeks, tough decisions will again have to be made to save lives and protect our NHS.

"Trust in leadership is a matter of life and death. However, Downing Street willfully broke the rules and mocked the sacrifices we have all made, shattering the public’s trust.

"The Prime Minister is responsible for losing the trust of the people.

"People across this country have followed the rules even when it meant missing friends and family, missing births, missing funerals - missing the chance to be beside a loved one in their dying moments. He can no longer lead on the most pressing issue facing the country.

"The Prime Minister has a duty – the only right and moral choice left to him, is for his resignation."