Ross: ‘Johnson should quit if he has broken the rules’
● Scottish Tory leader says PM ought to resign if party donor claims are true
Boris Johnson should resign if he is found to have broken the ministerial code, Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross has said.
Mr Ross made the concession yesterday having called earlier this year for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to resign over a probe into whether she had broken the ministerial code amid an investigation into alleged sexual harassment by her predecessor Alex Salmond.
And in a separate TV interview, Ms Sturgeon insisted that thursday’ selection was“not an independence referendum ”, as opposition parties hit out at reports that she had ordered work to start on a new blueprint for breakingup britain at the peak of the second wave of the Covid pandemic in Scotland.
An independent inquiry into ms sturgeon’ s conduct surrounding the S almond inquiry exonerated her of several charges of breaching the ministerial
code. However, a Holyrood committee report found a “fundamental contradiction” in her evidence amounted to a potential breach.
Asked on the BBC’S Andrew Marr show yesterday whether the Prime Minister should re sign if he is found to have brokenrules surrounding the funding of the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, Mr Ross replied “of course”.
His comments come as Mr Johnson faces fresh allegations over Tory donors being approached for funding to pay for childcare for the prime minister’ s baby son Wilfred.
An unidentified Tory MP received a complaint from a supporter who had allegedly been asked to pay for childcare for the one-year-old, according to reports in the sunday times.
Mr Ross said: “Of course – I think people expect the highest standards of those in the highest office of the land and that's why I think people are looking at the investigations that are currently ongoing and waiting for the answers to be heard.”
The Scottish Tories leader added: “Nicola Sturgeon was found to have misled MSPS in Parliament by a cross-party committee of MSPS, but I think as your earlier commentators say, there are three investigations underway in terms of what the Prime Minister has done and issues around that and i think it' s right that we have serious questions answered on all those points.”
The SNP has called for Boris Johnson to publish bank statements and correspondence relating to the renovation of his flat.
SNP Westminster deputy Leader Kirsten Oswald called for Mr Johnson to release all correspondence relating to the allegations, including Whatsapp messages and texts, as media reports also claimed the Tory Party paid £58,000 for the renovation of his flat, on top of £30,000 additional expenditure funded by taxpayers.
Ms Oswald said: "Boris Johnson must be living on another planet if he's whingeing about his dodgy-donor funded luxury lifestyle–when millions of families are struggling to get by as a result of Tory cuts.
"The growing sleaze scandal demonstrates, yet again, that the Tories are only in it for themselves and are completely out of touch with the majority of people across Scotland, who will find Johnson's comments utterly insulting.”
She added :" The Prime Ministermust publish his bank statements, all relevant documents and correspondence relating to his dodgy donor flat renovations, and other donation-funded income and expenditure, to ensure full transparency and assist inquiries and criminal investigations.
"If he fails, the stench of sleaze will continue to surround this Tory government–and Johnson could become the first serving Prime Minister to be interviewed under caution by the police and even prosecuted.”
The total refurbishment may have cost as much as £200,000, with reports a second invoice was paid by a tory donor directly to the supplier.
Mr ross insisted mr johnson, who had previously claimed that “wild horses” would not keep him away from the Scottish election campaign, had not avoided Scotland because of fears that his low popularity north of the Border could have an adverse effect on the scottish Tories’ election performance.
He said: “The Prime Minister knows I'm leading the party here in Scotland. It's the Scottish Conservative and Unionist candidates that are on the ballot paper, not the Prime Minister, and it's our manifesto that's going forward to the people of Scotland in just a few days time .”
Mr Ross added: “The reason he's not been to Scotland is because I'm leading the campaign here in Scotland. I'm the one taking the fight to the SNP to try and get the next Scottish Parliament laser focused on our recovery and rebuilding, to try and ensure that we've seen investment in our NHS and our police service, in our education systems. All these things that are under threat at the moment, we can actually have a parliament focused on these issues, if we can stop a second SNP majority and a second independence.”
Separate inquiries into how Mr Johnson’s flat redecoration was funded are being carried out by Simon Case, the head of the civil service, Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, and the Electoral Commission.
Other reports published this weekend revealed that conservativeparty staff have been given one week to hand overall communication related to renovationsof mr john son’ s flat or face criminal consequences.
Conservative Party staff received an email from human resources, in the name of Alan Mabbutt, a senior official and registered legal officer, stating: “You are put on notice that this is a criminal investigation.”
Downing Street did not deny a claim the Prime Minister has taken out a personal loan to repay the Conservative Party for the renovations, it has been reported. Such a loan would have to be declared to avoid conflicts of interest.
In an interview with the BBC’S The Sunday Show yesterday, Ms Sturgeon insisted the vote on Thursday was not a mandate for her party to start planning for a second Scottish independence referendum, despite reports she had told officials on February 2 that work on the Independence Referendum Bill must ‘commence immediately’ – more than a month before the Scottish Government published the draft legislation.