RUTH Davidson has not yet had lunch with the Russian donor who won her for £20,000 at a Tory party fundraising auction in February.
The revelation came as Davidson split with the Prime Minister and launched a public attack on “desperate and dangerous” Donald Trump.
She accused him of “fawning over” Russian president Vladimir Putin at Monday’s summit in Helsinki.
Writing in the Scotsman, Davidson said “Here was the President of the United States fawning over a Russian hardman. The impression gained was of a figure desperate to obtain a measure of acceptance and praise from his new friend.“
She also compared the US President to former First Minister Alex Salmond, accusing the ex-SNP leader of “echoing Putin’s disinformation campaign” after he was reprimanded by Ofcom for misleading viewers by reading out made-up tweets on the weekly show he hosts on Kremlin propaganda channel, Russia Today.
“Nothing attracts a wannabe strong man, it seems, than thuggish strength. And, in the case of both the former First Minister and current US President, Putin has – sadly – succeeded in that task,” Davidson said.
She added: “Putin’s regime is a government that is contemptuous of international law and our democratic way of life. Yet, for the President of the United States, it is the European Union which is now to be deemed a ‘foe’, while Putin is America’s new best pal.”
She said the US leader wants people to believe his vision of his country is the only option.
“Mr Trump’s narrow vision of America - blustering, boastful and bullying - simply doesn’t relate to the reality,” she wrote.
“Mr Trump wants to have us believe there is only one America - his. He is wrong - and we should never forget it.
“America does not conform to Mr Trump’s small and insular vision of it, nor does it have need of being made great again: it is already a hotbed of intellectual, cultural and technological greatness.”
She warned against “inflating Mr Trump’s ego even more by fearing him too much”.
The SNP MP Stewart McDonald said there was “much to agree with” in Davidson’s piece, and that it was “welcome that she’s not replicating the fawning of her Westminster superiors”.
“However I’m afraid she is tainted by the fact she accepted a £20,000 donation to dine with one of Putin’s closest cronies and allies,” he added.
The Scots Tory leader was one of the prizes at an auction at the UK party’s Black and White fundraising ball in February.
She was won for £20,000 by Lubov Chernukhin, a Russian donor who has given the Tories £253,950 in the year to September 2017.
Chernukhin’s husband, Vladimir, was part of Putin’s government in the early years of his presidency, according to reports.
He was on the soviet ministry of foreign trade and then served as deputy finance minister from 2000 to 2002.
In 2004 he was appointed chairman of a state-owned bank by presidential decree and awarded an order of honour from Putin in 2004.
McDonald told Davidson to hand back the £20,000 before this could be taken “a bit more seriously.” He added: “Until then, this looks like a desperate bid for alternative relevance in amongst the civil war and chaos that grips the Conservative party. Nice try though”.
Chernukin, who also bid £30,000 for dinner with defence secretary Gavin Williamson, previously won an auction for a tennis match against David Cameron and Boris Johnson, when the government was pushing for tougher sanctions against Russia.
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