THERESA May’s botched Brexit deal with Brussels has sparked open warfare within the Scottish Tories.
The draft agreement, details of which are still under wraps, reportedly includes provisions which will see a different regulatory system in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Effectively, Belfast will remain closely tied to the single market, and a border will placed down the Irish sea.
Brexiteer Aberdeen South MP Ross Thomson took to Twitter to share his anger: “I fought head, heart, body and soul to save our Union in 2014.
“If the news reports are true the backstop would result in Northern Ireland diverging unconsciously from the UK and it would fundamentally undermine our Union, breaking it up by the back door. I find this unacceptable.”
But West Aberdeenshire Andrew Bowie seemed to take a sly dig at his colleague. He tweeted: “To everyone that's asking me... No I haven't read it. And as you would surely expect, I'm not going to form an opinion until I have. #BrexitDeal”
Perthshire MP Luke Graham tweeted: “Twitter has been going crazy already this morning - let’s wait for the detail then judge - plenty to discuss later!“ Thomsons is a staunch supporter of Boris Johnson, who last night called for cabinet ministers to resign over the agreement.
“We are going to stay in the customs union on this deal, we are going to stay effectively in large parts of the single market and that means it's vassal state stuff," he said.
It was revealed in October that senior figures in the Tory party north of the border have launched a secret campaign codenamed "Operation Arse" to stop Johnson replacing May.
Internal polling shows that Johnson as Prime Minister would reverse Tory gains made in Scotland at the last election, losing the party the 12 Westminster gains they made in 2017.
At the time a senior party source told the Daily Record: "We called it that so we'd all be clear who we were talking about."
Brexiteer Thomson, whose chaperoned Johnson during the ex-Mayor of London’s sell-out appearance at the party conference in Birmingham, praised the tousel-haired toff and criticised his colleagues.
“Regardless of your view of @BorisJohnson, today in his characteristic style he injected some much needed energy, optimism, passion and enthusiasm to a flat conference,” Thomson said.
“The reaction in the hall was electric which even those ‘Operation Arsehole’s [sic]’ can’t deny. #ChuckChequers #CPC18”
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