First Minister attacks Duncan’s appointment

new peer: Ian Duncan gets a peerage and is appointed David Mundell’s deputy

A defeated Tory candidate’s appointment as a UK minister has been branded an “absolute abomination” by Nicola Sturgeon.

The SNP leader said it is an outrage that Ian Duncan was rewarded for his failure to win Perth and North Perthshire with a peerage that allows him to take up the Scotland Office post.

She told First Minister’s Questions: “Isn’t it absolutely outrageous that we have a candidate defeated at the ballot box, fairly and squarely and then a matter of days later, the wishes of the people of Perth and North Perthshire are completely disregarded and this failed candidate is put into the House of Lords and installed as a minister in the Scotland Office?”

“Elected by absolutely nobody anywhere in Scotland, it is an absolute abomination and shows the contempt the Tories have for democracy.”

Mr Duncan was confirmed as the Scottish secretary David Mundell’s deputy on Tuesday, after the plan was revealed by The Courier on Monday.

The Conservative MEP, a former EU adviser to the Scottish Parliament, said he will be able to draw upon his Brussels experience in a “crucial time” for Scotland in which EU powers will be repatriated to the UK.

The move was seen as a snub to the 12 new Scottish Conservative MPs who did win their Westminster seats.

Pete Wishart, the SNP MP, saw off Mr Duncan’s challenge in Perth and North Perthshire in the general election by just 21 votes.

Mr Wishart admitted to the Commons yesterday he got through the election “by the skin of my teeth”.

He called Mr Duncan’s new appointment a “total affront to democracy and an insult to my constituents, who just so recently rejected him”.

“Will the leader of the house now pledge never to use the House of Lords as a receptacle for cronies, donors and failed leadership candidates?”

Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the House of Commons, said it is appropriate to recognise those who contribute to public life.

“There are obviously decisions taken on merit and also on the grounds of political contribution right across the public sector of people who have given many years’ service to the public sector,” she said.

A Scottish Conservatives spokesman said: “This was a ludicrous remark by a First Minister desperate to get some headlines to distract from what was another appalling defence of her domestic record in parliament.”

The appointment of Ian Duncan, who failed to win a seat at the general election, to the Scotland Office, has been branded an “abomination” by the First Minister.