DOUGLAS Ross has been dealt another blow from his own bosses after No 10 refused to say that it had confidence in him as the leader of the Scottish Tories.
The Downing Street spokesperson also refused to say whether the Prime Minister agreed with Jacob Rees-Mogg’s assessment of Ross as a “lightweight”.
The news comes after the Scottish Tory leader “regretfully” called for Boris Johnson to step down.
Ross and Johnson spoke on the phone on Wednesday afternoon, with the Prime Minister reportedly unable to give any assurances that further revelations in the “partygate” scandal were not still to be uncovered.
The Scottish Tory leader also claimed Johnson had told him he did not do anything wrong despite attending a BYOB event at No 10 during lockdown, according to reports.
READ MORE: Tory support in Scotland at 'lowest for seven or eight years', John Curtice says
Elsewhere, it was claimed that the Prime Minister had gone to the Westminster tea room after delivering his “apology” to the House of Commons over the scandal, and claimed he did not “deserve” the bad press.
He apparently told MPs in private: “We have taken a lot of hits in politics and this is one of them.
“Sometimes we take the credit for things we don’t deserve and this time we’re taking hits for something we don’t deserve.”
Asked about the claims, the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: “I think you're referring to some of the comments from unsourced MPs in the tea room, places like that.
"You'll appreciate I wasn't with the Prime Minister at that point, but those are unsourced claims. And I think what is clear is what the Prime Minister said repeatedly in the house which is very much his view.”
When challenged about Ross’s calls, the spokesperson said: “I can't comment on those claims that Douglas Ross has made. I simply point you to what the Prime Minister made clear repeatedly in the House.
“I think you've got the Prime Minister's view in the House, where he made clear repeatedly there were things we simply did not get right and I must take responsibility.
"That is what the Prime Minister's view is.”
The spokesperson also refused to say that No 10 had confidence in Ross as leader of the Scottish Tories, or that Rees-Mogg was wrong to call him a lightweight, calling them “party-political matters”.
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