TORY chief whip Stephen Kerr got into a sarcastic spat on Twitter with the Scottish Greens' Ross Greer after the UK received maximum points from the Ukraine jury in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The UK got a shock 12 from Ukraine - the eventual winners - and several other nations before Sam Ryder finished an overall 2nd in the competition.
Greer joked the UK had got the gift because it had provided arms to Ukraine to help defend the country against Russian invaders.
He said: "All it took for the UK to get 12 points was a few thousand anti-tank missiles."
All it took for the UK to get 12 points was a few thousand anti-tank missiles #EUROVISION
— Ross Greer (@Ross_Greer) May 14, 2022
All it took was one song contest to scrap the Scottish Nationalist talking point of a UK derided by the rest of Europe. pic.twitter.com/6kvGOWdJ6J
— Stephen Kerr MSP (@RealStephenKerr) May 15, 2022
Greer had said earlier in the night he ranked Ryder in his top five performers and even appeared excited at the prospect of Glasgow potentially getting to host the contest next year, as the Ovo Hydro did in the parody film Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga starring Will Ferrell.
But Kerr took umbrage with Greer's darkly comical tweet saying the UK's success on Saturday night was a sign the nation was not being rejected by Europe.
He hit back with: "All it took was one song contest to scrap the Scottish Nationalist talking point of a UK derided by the rest of Europe."
More than eight million people in the UK tuned in to watch the contest broadcast live from Torino, Italy, including an array of politicians who enjoyed engaging with the action on social media.
Glasgow and Eurovision were absolutely made for each other, just saying #Eurovision
— Ross Greer (@Ross_Greer) May 14, 2022
Greer told The National in response to Kerr's comment: "Graham Norton can rest easy if this is the quality of Mr Kerr's alternative Eurovision commentary.
"I doubt it hurt the UK's final score that Europe is united against an actual villain this year, as opposed to the pantomime baddies at Westminster.
"It's going to take far more than one decent Eurovision entry to undo the damage the Tory party has done to Britain's international reputation though, especially in Europe."
Ryder topped the national jury vote with 283 points, beating favourites Spain and Sweden.
The 32-year-old TikTok star won over the audience with his uplifting pop song Space Man, dazzling in a one-piece suit encrusted with beads and pearls.
His podium position marked the first time in 20 years that the UK has placed in the top three.
