DOUGLAS Ross was “delighted” to welcome Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove to the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, just weeks after he was accused of insulting the Scottish Tory chief.
After Ross called for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign amid the partygate scandal, Gove had been asked if he agreed with the sentiment.
The Tory minister responded by appearing to mock the Moray MP, telling the media that Ross was “in Elgin, and the national Tory leader is in London”.
On the same day, Jacob Rees-Mogg branded Ross a “lightweight” political figure.
After the spat, Gove backtracked and insisted Ross was a “super heavyweight” in political circles, adding: “He is a brilliant leader of the Scottish Conservatives. He does a fantastic job, not just in Westminster where he helps to hold government to account, but also in Holyrood.”
Since the outburst, Ross has been significantly quieter regarding his views on Johnson’s position. The Prime Minister has even been invited to speak at the Scottish Tory conference – albeit by videolink.
While the Scottish Conservative leader had the support of his Holyrood colleagues in his call for Johnson to go, he failed to get any of his five MPs at Westminster to speak out.
Now it appears he is making an effort to show improved relations between the Conservatives at UK and Scottish levels, after two senior UK Government figures visited the Parliament this week.
On Thursday, Gove gave evidence about the UK’s EU replacement funds to the Finance Committee. During the minister’s visit, the two met up – with Ross tweeting a picture of the pair together and adding: “Delighted to welcome @michaelgove to the Scottish Parliament today and discuss how the UK Government's Levelling Up Fund is investing in local communities across Scotland.”
Gove said in turn that he was “delighted” to see Ross at Holyrood, describing the MP and MSP as a “brilliant champion for Scotland’s local communities”.
READ MORE: Levelling Up: Michael Gove told EU replacement fund is failing Highlands and Islands
Earlier this week, Ross met with deputy prime minister Dominic Raab at the Scottish Parliament to discuss the deportation of criminals – a reserved issue for the UK Government.
Ross shared an image of the pair standing outside of Holyrood, and wrote: "Great to welcome Deputy Prime Minister @DominicRaab to the Scottish Parliament today. We discussed his proposed legislation to help ensure anyone who comes to the UK and commits a horrendous crime can be deported.”
I met @Douglas4Moray @ScotParlMSPs today to discuss upcoming UK Government reforms of the Human Rights Act. Our reforms will reinforce rights that are fundamental to the UK’s shared history and way of life - like freedom of speech, the liberty that guards all our other freedoms. pic.twitter.com/9gWXzvZsM9
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) February 23, 2022
The deputy PM added that the pair had also been discussing planned reforms to the Human Rights Act, claiming these would “reinforce rights that are fundamental to the UK’s shared history and way of life – like freedom of speech, the liberty that guards all our other freedoms”.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights has previously warned that the current laws work effectively and argued there is “absolutely no justification” for the Act to be altered.
Raab claims his aim is to “prevent the misuse and distortion” of the European Convention on Human Rights – but campaign group Liberty described the move as a “blatant, unashamed power grab from a government that wants to put themselves above the law”.
"They are quite literally rewriting the rules in their favour so they become untouchable,” said the organisation’s director Martha Spurrier.
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