THE Milton Keynes MP who was made a Scotland Office minister last month has said it is “anti-British” to suggest he should not have been given the role.
Tory MP Iain Stewart, who became a minister in the department following the resignation of Douglas Ross over the Dominic Cummings row, rejected claims he is “disqualified” for the job since he represents a seat in England.
Stewart has lived in Milton Keynes since the 1990s but prior to that was raised in Hamilton and educated in Glasgow.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson appoints Milton Keynes MP as new Scotland Office Minister
During an interview the minister was asked whether it is appropriate for an MP based in England to work in Alister Jack’s Scotland Office department. He said: “There have been examples the other way round. John Reid in Tony Blair’s government was responsible for the health service in England when he represented a Scottish seat.
“So I don’t buy into this anti-British view that because you represent a constituency in one part of Britain that you are disqualified from doing a good job in the other parts.”
Stewart said he had been involved in Scottish politics for “30-odd years” and is “eminently well qualified to do this job”.
The MP was announced as the new Scotland Office minister when Ross resigned amid the Cummings scandal.
The Prime Minister’s top adviser sparked backlash when he travelled from London to his parents’ Durham home while sick with Covid-19 during lockdown.
Many senior Tories spoke out on the number of emails they had received from angry constituents over the matter, but Ross was the only one to resign amid the debate.
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