Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has been put in a “terrible position” by partygate, former leader Ruth Davidson has said.
Mr Ross has been criticised for saying on Tuesday that the Prime Minister should not stand down as a result of being fined in relation to a Downing Street gathering at the height of the pandemic.
Previously a vocal critic of Boris Johnson, the Scottish leader said a change in Number 10 would “destabilise” the UK as it looked to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
But Ms Davidson, who was given a seat in the House of Lords by Mr Johnson, has been outspoken in her calls for him to leave.
“For me, to have a Prime Minister that’s broken the law, laws that he sets, to have presided over a culture in Number 10 where laws were repeatedly broken, and who told both the Parliament and the public that no laws were broken when they were, for me, that is a resignation offence,” she told journalists as she joined the Scottish Tory campaign trail for the council elections.
When asked if she was disappointed in the stance of Mr Ross, the former leader said: “I’ve got no issue with Douglas.
“I think Douglas has been put in a terrible position. Probably the hardest position that any Scottish leader ever has been, and as somebody who was the leader for eight years, I know what it’s like to have been dumped in it by colleagues down south.
“I think Douglas was pretty, pretty gutsy to come out early to say that this wasn’t on.”
Ms Davidson went on to say that Mr Johnson’s continuation in the job meant the office of Prime Minister was being “traduced”.
They feel that the Prime Minister and the culture in Number 10 makes a mockery of their sacrifice
The former leader also grew visibly emotional when she spoke about people who had been impacted by Covid-19 regulations such as those that resulted in at least 50 fines for breaches in and around Downing Street, including for the Prime Minister, Carrie Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
“The thing that really gets me, is how many people I know or have met, or have spoken to me, or I represented when I was still an MSP when Covid was going on, who didn’t see loved ones, who stuck by the rules, who saw folk that they loved die or be ill or be alone, and who will never forgive themselves,” she said.
“And they feel that the Prime Minister and the culture in Number 10 makes a mockery of their sacrifice.”
But despite her position on the Prime Minister, Ms Davidson said she did not see a conflict in campaigning for Tory councillors to be elected on May 5, adding: “I believe that councils with more Tories in them do better.”
Later on Wednesday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the situation in Ukraine should not be used as a reason to keep the Prime Minister in office.
At a time of real, serious issues for the UK to confront, surely it's all the more important that the incumbent in Number 10 is a Prime Minister who can lead with moral authority?
She told Bauer radio: “Perhaps the lowest of the low, the use of the horror and suffering of people in Ukraine as a reason why Boris Johnson should stay in office.
“Douglas Ross has in some ways been leading that particular line.
“How he can look himself in the mirror in doing so, let alone look anyone in Scotland in the eye, is beyond me.
“At a time of real, serious issues for the UK to confront, surely it’s all the more important that the incumbent in Number 10 is a Prime Minister who can lead with moral authority?”
