DOUGLAS Ross has said he will not resign in protest as leader of the Scottish Tories in response to the Prime Minister’s handling of allegations that a Christmas party took place in Downing Street last year.
The Scottish Conservative leader resigned as a Scotland Office minister a year ago after Dominic Cummings broke Covid restrictions but told Sky News his current post is different.
He said: “I don’t believe so, it’s totally independent from the UK Government, from the Prime Minister, from the UK party – it’s Conservative members here in Scotland who decide who leads the party here in Scotland.”
He went on to say that the wrangle over alleged parties in Downing Street last December has damaged the Conservative Party.
READ MORE: Douglas Ross's continuing confidence in PM branded 'utterly pathetic'
“I think undoubtedly we have been damaged by this issue,” he told Sky News.
“Which is why I can understand why this issue is still top of the agenda, why it has been raised now two weeks running at Prime Minister’s Questions.
“But more important for me than that – it’s not the political ramifications, I’ll deal with that or do whatever I have to do as the leader of the Scottish Conservatives.
“What angers me more is the families that had to sacrifice so much at the same time 12 months ago people thought it was okay to have a jolly in Downing Street.”
Boris Johnson faced a tense Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday as politicians from all sides attacked the PM for "shattering public trust".
Even some Tory members were enraged, with one phoning up Radio 5 to explain why they the Conservative Party immediately after PMQs.
The Moray MP also said Johnson should step down as Prime Minister if he misled parliament over the party.
He told Sky News: “If he knew there was a party, if he knew it took place, then he cannot come to the House of Commons and say there was no party.
“That would be a very serious allegation if that were to be the outcome of the inquiry and we’d have to see the outcome of the inquiry before we speculate on that.
“But anyone who says there wasn’t a party, but knew about it and said in parliament there was no party has misled parliament.
“That is a serious charge and you cannot continue in the highest office in the land if you’ve done that.”
He added: “If the inquiry said that this time last year he was aware of a party being organised and he knew about a party, that’s a totally different picture and we cannot have the Prime Minister or any member of any parliament coming to the chamber saying one thing when they know the exact opposite.”
Boris Johnson has faced calls to resign from the SNP, with Westminster leader Ian Blackford saying if the Prime Minister doesn't resign he will "be removed" by MPs.
Boris Johnson and Downing Street continue to deny that there were any Christmas parties.
Johnson said he has been assured no rules were broken as he announced that an internal investigation will take place.
Ross said it was “undeniable” that there was some kind of party in Downing Street last December.
He said he has looked at the video and looked at everything else that we’ve seen over the last week, and said there was a party "of some kind".
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He continued: “That is undeniable, I think, and that’s why I am saying it’s right we ask these serious questions – we get the answers quickly."
When he first saw a video of Downing Street staff appearing to joke about the party, Ross said: “I just thought it confirmed everything that people had been suggesting that we had been told hadn’t happened.
“It’s clear from that video that there was a party of some kind, now I don’t know exactly what it was, I don’t know who was there, I don’t know how it was organised or how it played out, but from that video it’s pretty clear there was a party and, therefore, serious questions have to be answered.
“The guidance was crystal clear, there was no ambiguity – it said no Christmas lunches, no Christmas parties – that’s what people in Downing Street were telling the public to follow, yet it seems people within that building weren’t doing that themselves.”
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