Nicola Sturgeon has branded Douglas Ross the "cheerleader in chief" for backing Boris Johnson over the partygate scandal.
The SNP leader took aim at the Scottish Conservative leader at First Minister 's Questions (FMQs) at Holyrood ahead of the council elections on Thursday.
Ross has been mocked for withdrawing his calls for the Prime Minister to resign after he admitted attending a gathering in Downing Street during the covid lockdown in 2020.
In January the Moray submitted a letter to the 1922 committee saying he had no confidence in the PM, however ahead of the Tory party conference in March Ross reversed his calls.
After Johnson was fined by the Metropolitan Police for attending his birthday party in Number 10 Ross stood by his boss.
During FMQs Douglas Ross probed Sturgeon on local issues.
He said: "Tomorrow’s election is a chance to get the focus back onto the things that really matter to people - improving local services, rebuilding roads, investing in schools and cleaning up our streets.
"Scottish Conservative councillors will focus on local priorities and stand up to the SNP when they waste a fortune on ferries, slash council budgets and cut vital services.
"First Minister, why should SNP candidates be rewarded for your failures?"
Sturgeon hit back at Ross branding him "a follower" and "not a leader".
She said: "I suspect this has been well noticed across Scotland in this election.
"Douglas Ross has spent far more time standing up for Boris Johnson than he has standing up for the interests of people in Scotland.
"When it looked as if the Tories were actually going to get rid of Boris Johnson, Douglas Ross bravely at that point called for his resignation.
"When that changed Douglas Ross allowed himself to be hauled into line and has just become the cheerleader in chief for Boris Johnson.
"No consistency, no principle, no resolve, no backbone.
"That is Douglas Ross, he's not a leader, he's just a follower."
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