THE Scottish Conservatives are on the brink of an “almighty political civil war” which will erupt in the run up to the Holyrood elections, according to Henry McLeish.

The former first minister made the forecast as he responded to Scottish Secretary Alister Jack’s comments that he would oppose a new vote for 25 to 40 years.

Speaking to The National, McLeish said Jack’s intervention on Friday was aimed as much at Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Tories – who has suggested the need to come up with a new form of Unionism – as at the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and independence supporters.

“Douglas Ross has been making some interesting comments over the past few weeks taking on the UK Government,” said the former Labour First Minister.

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“He is acknowledging quietly that the Tories are in deep trouble and their position on the constitution cannot survive.

“My belief is if Alister Jack is doing the bidding of Boris Johnson then there is going to be an almighty stramash and that they could be heading for a political civil on the eve of one of the most important Scottish elections to take place in recent times.”

McLeish added: “There is no doubt there is a serious, serious rift taking place and in my view that is part of the reason why Alister Jack made those comments on Friday ... these are not comments by buffoons they are comments designed to irritate ... but at the same time, as Johnson doesn’t understand the psychology of politics, they are alienating people and driving them to support independence.”

McLeish added that he believed there would be a second independence referendum within five years.

Ross last week launched an extraordinary attack on Johnson by stating that Scots are not “absolutely wrong” in their low opinion of him and Nicola Sturgeon is a better communicator.

The Scottish Tory leader said “most objective people” would say the First Minister, who holds a briefing every weekday, has communicated better with the public during the pandemic than Johnson.

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Pressed whether Johnson harms the case for the Union, Ross said: “You can’t say that the people of Scotland are absolutely wrong in their ratings for their various leaders.”

His intervention came only hours after he gave a keynote speech stating Scots have turned to independence after becoming “alienated” by the UK Government’s “winner takes all” approach to Brexit.

He accused the Government of considering only the views of Brexit supporters and ignoring Remain voters in Scotland who still feel “aggrieved” at the 2016 referendum result.

It was also reported on Friday that Scottish Tories had ordered Johnson to keep away from Scotland in the run up to the Holyrood 2021 elections after polls suggested Scots “loathed” the Prime Minister.

One former minister said Johnson was a “monkey on Douglas Ross’s back” and would be told to stay away from Scotland in order not to harm the party’s chances in the face of an expected SNP surge.

He said: “How many Tory candidates for the Holyrood election will put Boris in their leaflets? None. Anyone in the Conservative Party doesn’t want him anywhere near that election.

“They won’t want him to come up, they won’t want any photos. Ruth will be the leader with Douglas as her liegeman. There will be no sign of Boris.”

Last month, analysis suggested Scottish voters’ “loathing” of Johnson was the biggest factor driving them to back independence; 12 consecutive snapshots have shown a lead for Yes. A poll last week suggested such was the unpopularity of the Tories that the party could once again find themselves in third place in Holyrood.

A Scottish Tory spokesperson said: “The last thing Scotland needs right now is another divisive independence referendum.”