A Scottish Tory MP has called on Jacob Rees-Mogg to apologise for calling Douglas Ross a “lightweight” and said many Conservatives are "struggling" to back Boris Johnson.
Andrew Bowie MP, a former aide to Theresa May, said the Tory Commons leader was “utterly wrong to characterise Douglas Ross as in any way a lightweight figure.”
The Scottish Tory leader was dismissed by Rees-Mogg after being one of the first of six MPs to call for Boris Johnson's resignation over the Downing Street parties during lockdown.
Amid a growing rift between the Scottish party and Boris Johnson’s senior cabinet members, the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP said: “Douglas has proven himself in leading the Scottish Conservative Party to a record number of votes in last year’s Holyrood election.”
Bowie added: “He is by no way a lightweight and I think Jacob should apologise for those comments, I think they were misjudged, and I do wonder if he regrets making those comments now.”
With MPs returning to Westminster on Monday having faced the anger of constituents and party members, Bowie said many Tory MPs are coming under pressure to move against Boris Johnson over Downing Street’s lockdown parties.
He said: "There is a real sense of anger and disappointment within the party and I think that many MPs therefore are struggling with the decisions that they may have to take over the next few weeks.”
He told the BBCs Westminster Hour: “The atmosphere within the Conservative Party is a mixture of shame, anger and disappointment… It’s quite clear the Prime Minister’s apology didn’t cut it in the eyes of many members of the public and in the eyes of many members of the Conservative Party, and members of parliament.”
Bowie resigned as a vice-chairman of the party at the time of the Owen Paterson affair when the Prime Minister attempted to change Commons rules to stop his friend being censored over a lobbying scandal.
Bowie said at the time that he made the his decision so that he could focus on defending his constituency seat but made clear his unhappiness with Johnson’s leadership.
