A SCOTTISH Tory MP has admitted he had to “defend the indefensible” by backing Boris Johnson.
Andrew Bowie, who resigned as vice chairman of the Conservative party last year over the Owen Paterson scandal, revealed he felt “sense of shame” at being sent out to speak to the media in defence of the Government.
The MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine told BBC News the Prime Minister had “done the decent thing” by accepting his position was untenable.
It is expected the Prime Minister will resign today, following a punishing 48 hours as the Government collapsed around him.
Bowie said: “I was put in the invidious position of having to defend the indefensible on Owen Paterson.
“I do think it was the first domino to fall but I wasn’t the last person who was sent out to defend something for which they were not responsible for.”
He cited a common concern among his Tory colleagues that the version of events they were instructed to tell the media by Downing Street was “changing virtually while on air”.
Delivering this shifting narrative to the press was “embarrassing”, Bowie said, adding: “You feel a sense of shame having to do that.
“Especially when the thing that you’ve gone on to defend then changes, the story changes almost when you’re live on air.”
Bowie was caught out on the BBC’s Politics Live earlier this year when his Tory colleague Christian Wakeford defected to Labour while he was live on air, despite him predicting earlier on the programme the Bury South MP was staying put.
He added: “I was completely unsustainable to imagine that the Prime Minister could carry on.
“We did not have a functioning Government in this country yesterday evening.”
Johnson is expected to resign as Prime Minister at lunchtime today, sources have told the media.
But it has also been reported Johnson wants to stay on in a “caretaker” role until October, a suggestion already being met with fierce opposition from Conservative MPs.
The Paterson scandal resulted when the Prime Minister attempted to change parliamentary rules to protect his ally after he was found to have broken lobbying rules.
It eventually resulted in the North Shropshire MP’s resignation, triggering a by-election in which the Tories were dealt a humiliating defeat in what was a safe seat.
