Douglas Ross has argued that only Vladimir Putin would benefit from the removal of Boris Johnson from 10 Downing Street as he defended withdrawing his call for the Prime Minister to quit.
The Scottish Tory leader said it was “totally the wrong time” to try and oust Mr Johnson and warned the Russian president would use any signs of division as a “wedge” to drive between his opponents.
Asked whether his about-turn made him appear a political “lightweight”, Mr Ross said “I really don’t care” and argued that “anything else just seems trivial” compared with the war in Ukraine.
Although he has faced intense criticism from the SNP and Labour over his decision, he pointed out that both parties had called for “unity” over Ukraine.
In another sign that he has patched up his relations with the Prime Minister, Mr Johnson praised “Douglas Ross’ excellent leadership” in a booklet produced for delegates attending next week’s Scottish Tory conference in Aberdeen.
Mr Ross spoke out as Nicola Sturgeon’s Green coalition partners said an independent Scotland should not join Nato because of its “first strike nuclear policy”.
Speaking ahead of the Scottish Greens’ spring conference on Saturday, co-leader Patrick Harvie denied that the Ukraine crisis showed the benefit of Nato membership or that Britain’s nuclear deterrent helped security.
However, he said he disagreed with Ms Sturgeon’s call for Nato to consider a no-fly zone above Ukraine, saying “the goal has to be about de-escalation, not escalation.” UK ministers have warned the “naive” demand could lead to a “third world war”.
Mr Ross extended an olive branch to Mr Johnson on Thursday, disclosing he had withdrawn his letter to the 1922 Committee calling for a vote of no confidence.
The Scottish Conservatives also invited the Prime Minister to speak in person at their two-day spring conference. It had previously been expected he would address the event virtually.
His intervention was a huge boost to Mr Johnson’s longer term hopes of riding out the Partygate scandal as Mr Ross was the first senior Tory to demand his resignation.
Mr Ross urged Mr Johnson to quit in January after the Prime Minister failed to convince him in a phone call about why he attended a Downing Street garden party during lockdown. Almost all the party’s 31 MSPs then echoed their leader’s call.
With the immediate threat to Mr Johnson’s position receding as a result of the Ukraine crisis, Mr Ross had been under increasing pressure to explain how he could continue working with the Prime Minister while seeking his removal from office.
‘Now is the time for unity’
The Scottish Tory leader told the BBC: “Now is not the time to try and replace a prime minister – now is the time for unity. The only person who would gain from the removal of a UK prime minister from office would be Vladimir Putin.”
He added: “We should be supporting the Government to support the people of Ukraine, to support the government of Ukraine, because the real threat to everything at the moment is from Vladimir Putin.
“It’s not actions that took place a couple of years ago, serious though they are. It’s the actions that are happening right now, with people dying, children losing their lives and a country being destroyed through no fault of their own.”
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Mr Ross acknowledged there would be personal differences between himself and Mr Johnson but said he “had confidence in the Prime Minister to deal with this situation at the moment”.
Donald Cameron, the Scottish Tories’ Shadow External Affairs Secretary, said Mr Harvie’s Nato comments demonstrated “once again how unfit he and his party are to hold government office”.
Ian Murray, Labour’s Shadow Scottish Secretary, said: “The Scottish Government’s response to the Ukraine crisis has been utterly embarrassing. One minute Nicola Sturgeon is calling for world war three, the next Patrick Harvie wants us to leave Nato.”
