Ross defends decision to contest seat after ex-minister deemed unfit to stand

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has defended his decision to run in the General Election in the place of a candidate deemed not well enough to stand by his party.

Mr Ross is part of the Scottish Conservative management board, which ruled former UK Government minister David Duguid is not medically well enough to stand for the party in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat.

But Mr Duguid, who was taken into hospital in April, insisted in a post on social media that claims he is “unable to stand” due to ill health are “simply incorrect”.

Instead, he said it was the party management board “that decided not to allow me to be the candidate, although none of them had visited me”.

He wrote: “They apparently took this decision based on two visits from the party director and without receiving any professional medical prognosis.”

The former MP – who will not be eligible for a redundancy payment from Parliament – added he is “very saddened by the way this whole episode has unfolded”.

Rival parties claimed Mr Ross had “betrayed” a colleague by putting himself forward to stand in the seat – a decision which came after he previously said he would quit Westminster to focus on Holyrood and his post as leader of the Scottish Conservatives.

Scottish Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes branded Mr Ross’s behaviour as being “straight out of the Farage playbook”, while Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said it showed there is “no promise flip-flop Ross won’t break”.

Mr Ross said the “very unique circumstances” and timings meant the party had just over 24 hours to get another candidate in place, so he decided to put himself forward.

He told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Friday that boundary changes mean a part of the seat includes his former Moray constituency, which he has represented in the UK Parliament since 2017.

He added: “I want to lead from the front, this is a really important seat.

“It’s one of the many key seats across Scotland where it is a straight choice between the Scottish Conservatives and the SNP.”

He said Mr Duguid had been an “absolute champion” for the area and the Conservative party management board had had a “difficult decision” to make.

Mr Ross said: “The party management board had to look at the situation right now, the situation with David’s health, his recovery, that was at the heart of the decision the management board took.

“It was a very difficult decision, and I understand how difficult it has been for David, for his family, for his staff. I have been in touch with his office.”

Asked if he has spoken to Mr Duguid since he put himself forward for the seat, Mr Ross said he had “reached out” to him, adding that “he will maybe speak when he is able to and he feels able to speak”.

Pressed on whether he had messaged Mr Duguid or tried to speak to him, Mr Ross added: “We have done both, but given he is in hospital it is not straightforward.

“I have been in conversation with David’s office and such like, relaying as much support as we can.”