DOUGLAS Ross had to be reprimanded at a Westminster committee hearing after he interrupted an SNP MP who he claimed had been “going on for quite a while”.
The Scottish Tory leader was meant to be one of the MPs questioning Scotland Office minister John Lamont and Malcolm Offord, alongside the Scottish Secretary Alister Jack, on the work of the UK Government in Scotland.
But instead Ross took aim at SNP MP Deirdre Brock, who had been asking about the allocation of two targeted funding packages in Scotland.
On March 15, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the Tory government would provide “up to £8.6m of targeted funding for the Edinburgh Festivals as well as £1.5m funding to repair the Cloddach Bridge” in Ross’s Moray constituency.
Brock said that other cultural organisations in Scotland had been “surprised” by the money announced for the festivals, going on: “Certainly there have been questions raised about the bridge in Mr Ross’s constituency.”
At that point the Scottish Tory leader interrupted: “Can you name the bridge?”
Brock said she could not, prompting Ross to say: “Well maybe don’t ask about something you don’t know …”
The chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, SNP MP Pete Wishart, called for order, prompting Ross to say: “Ms Brock has spent a large part of this time, if I can, chair.”
“No, you can’t,” Wishart responded.
“So you’re not allowing a member to speak?” Ross asked, adding: “God. It’s been going on for quite a while," when told that Brock was asking a question.
A couple of minutes after the exchange, Ross and Wishart could be seen quietly exchanging words as other members continued to discuss funding.
The UK Government money allocated to Edinburgh Festivals sparked a backlash after it was announced that the cash would be spent on a "community hub" to provide "support" for performers.
Glasgow comic Janey Godley said at the time: “Great, just what the Edinburgh Fringe needs – new offices.
“As a regular Fringe performer, I can count on one hand the times I used the Fringe office – we have to pay £300 odd to get listed in a brochure and social media has even made that obsolete – what a carry-on.”
