Scottish Tories split over future of Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson’s performance in the Commons after the publication of the Sue Gray report failed to win over senior Scottish Tories.

Former party leader, Ruth Davidson was close to tears when speaking to Channel 4 news on Monday night. She said the parties in Downing Street had left people following the rules feeling like idiots.

Baroness Davidson said: “I am upset, and I’m upset not just because of things that myself and others that are in my close family or circle of friends had to give up, but I was working in the Scottish Parliament.

"I had constituents that lost businesses, I had people that feel guilty that they didn’t go to the care home to see their parents, that they didn’t hug a friend at a funeral because they played by the rules.

“And now they look at what happened in Number 10 and they feel like idiots, and they shouldn’t be made to feel like that.”

Douglas Ross called for the report of Sue Gray, the senior civil servant investigating the possible breaches to be published in full.

In a statement, he said: “I made my position clear several weeks ago and that remains my position in light of the findings of Sue Gray’s report, which states ‘at least some of the gatherings in question represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time’.”

“It is vital that the final report, following the Met investigation, is published in full,” he added.

There was support for the Prime Minister from Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack. He said it was now time to move on. “The Prime Minister has my full support. He has accepted the findings of the report and he has made a sincere apology.
 
"He has taken responsibility and undertaken to fix things. I have no doubt that he will do that.
 
“Our focus must now be on the issues that matter most to people - recovering from the pandemic, boosting our economy and rebuilding our public services. 
 
"This Government and this Prime Minister have a track record to be proud of. That includes the most effective covid vaccination programme in Europe, and now the fastest growing economy the G7. We are delivering record funding for Holyrood, a £1.5billion growth deal programme, and investing directly in projects to improve communities the length and breadth of Scotland.
 
"We will continue to deliver for Scotland and the whole UK.'

The MSP group in Holyrood has backed Ross, but there’s been a more muted response from the party’s Scottish MPs. 

Aside from Jack, Andrew Bowie, the West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine MP is, so far, the only one to speak out, saying he thought the Prime Minister “should be considering his position.”

In her update on the parties in No 10, Gray said there was a "failure of leadership" over the 16 events she examined.

She said she had been "extremely limited" by the police investigation in how much she could say.

Metropolitan Police officers are looking into 12 events for alleged breaches of lockdown rules, including three the PM reportedly attended and one in his flat.

The force has confirmed it has received more than 500 pages of documents and 300 pictures as part of its investigation.