Boris Johnson used rude words when I told him to quit, says Scottish Tory leader
Douglas Ross recalled the moment he urged the Prime Minister to resign over the partygate affair.
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson used ārudeā words when Douglas Ross called for his resignation, the Scottish Conservative leader has said.
Mr Ross was among the first senior Tories to tell the Prime Minister to go earlier this year over partygate, before he rescinded his calls citing the need for stability at the top of Government when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Speaking at an event at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with broadcaster Iain Dale, Mr Ross recalled Mr Johnsonās reaction when he told him to quit immediately after a session of Prime Ministerās Questions.
āBecause I was one of the first senior figures to tell the Prime Minister to resign, he was not particularly pleased with that,ā Mr Ross said.
āHe was angry, one of his MPs was saying they no longer had confidence in him, I think it would be a difficult conversation to have for any party leader to have your MPs telling you that, particularly when youāre the Prime Minister ā that ratchets it up a notch.ā
When asked if Mr Johnson had used āLatin wordsā ā a euphemism for swearing ā Mr Ross said: āThey were rude, they werenāt necessarily Latin.ā
Within hours of his stance becoming public, then leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg repeatedly described Mr Ross as a ālightweightā in the party.
Mr Ross said: āThis is clearly a line, they wanted to dampen down any potential dissent.
āWhen Jacob Rees-Mogg made those comments, I said āwell, youāre entitled to that viewā ā I disagree with it, Iāve never said anything about Jacob Rees-Mogg, I donāt think weāve actually ever spoken before in the five years that Iāve been in the House of Commons.
āFor someone who prides himself on being very courteous to colleagues, it was a surprise.ā