SNP: Davidson ‘left humiliated’

● Mundell ‘not surprised’ at sacking after four years in post ● Criticised over failure to resign before he was axed

The SNP claimed Ruth Davidson had been “left humiliated” last night after David Mundell was sacked as secretary of state for Scotland just hours after Boris Johnson arrived at No.10 to begin his premiership.

The Scottish party leader had urged the new Prime Minister to keep faith in Mr Mundell, one of the longest-serving ministers in Whitehall and a veteran of the 2014 Better Together campaign.

But his experience as a highprofile supporter of the Union counted for little last night as the new Tory leader stamped his authority with a sweeping Cabinet reshuffle.

Mr Mundell, 57, had been roundly criticised by opposition parties on Tuesday after he opted not to follow the example of several of his Cabinet colleagues by resigning before Mr Johnson entered Downing Street.

But he received firm support from Ms Davidson and other party colleagues in Scotland. He was replaced by Alister Jack, the MP for Dumfries and Galloway since 2017, who was appointed to the whips office in February.

Mr Johnson, who has repeatedly refused to rule out the prospect of a no-deal Brexit, is unlikely to have welcomed Mr Mundell’s previous opposition to such a scenario.

Last year, the Scottish secretary claimed that a no-deal Brexit would be “catastrophic” for Scotland and that such an outcome would be unacceptable for the country.

“I believe it would be a fundamental threat to the continuation of the United Kingdom and therefore in the round you

Time will tell what type of Prime Minister Boris Johnson will become.

He may do better than we expect. To be honest it would be difficult not to – his campaign has been a masterclass in expectation management.

Most are anticipating he will be a disaster.

Understandably, there is already concern about the decisions he will make in his new role, and particularly in Scotland.

There have been interesting indications about his commitment to keeping the UK together, including the creation of his new title as Minister of the Union, his commitment to Barnett, and