Douglas Ross lashes out at 'calculating b*****ds' who plotted against him

The referee-turned-politician, who became leader unopposed following Jackson Carlaw’s short-lived stint heading up the Tories north of the border, claimed some MSPs never wanted him to take on the SNP.

Despite confronting his Conservative critics, Ross claimed he was powerless as they denied any wrongdoing and he could not prove otherwise.

He also refused to identify the culprits but took a swipe at his rivals while discussing the crop of candidates standing to succeed him.

“I was going to say some of the ones that won’t be leader of the Scottish Tories are calculating b*****ds,” he said.

Ross later claimed he would have been toppled even if he stood by his commitment not to contest the 2024 General Election.

“Even if I hadn’t gone for that seat as the candidate, I think I would have been in the exact same situation,” Ross said.

• Farage plots to force Starmer to hold ECHR vote as Reform leader predicts ‘easy’ victory
• True cost of Britain's foreign aid as cash thrown at Chinese regions RICHER than the UK
• Labour tax rises 'could be tipping point' for economy as borrowing costs surge

“I would no longer have been an MP, I would still have been an MSP and we would still have had roughly the same vote share across the country; therefore there would have been calls – which I would have accepted – for me to stand down.”

He added: “I’ve known since I became leader that some people didn’t want me to become leader four years ago and throughout that time people have continued to hold that view, and for some that view will have strengthened.”

Ross was ousted from the House of Commons after failing to win Aberdeenshire North & Moray East.

The 41-year-old lost by just 942 votes after controversially replacing incumbent MP David Duguid as Tory candidate.

Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe, Ross denied allegations he was looking to install ally Russell Findlay as his successor.

Findlay is viewed as the favoured candidate of the Scottish Tory Party’s high-command.

Ross came under fire last week after it emerged the outgoing Scottish Tory leader allegedly tried to persuade Kathleen Robertson to let him take her place as Conservative candidate for Moray West, Nairn & Strathspey.

Robertson failed to win the seat, losing to new SNP MP Graham Leadbitter by 1,001 votes.

Ross and Robertson disagree somewhat on their conversation, with the outgoing leader declaring the dialogue solely centred on her candidacy and the Moray Council leader alleging he also wanted Findlay as his successor.

Speaking in the Scottish capital, Ross told attendees: “There is no way a leader could say, I’m going to resign as leader and install X, Y or Z to take over from me.

“That just can’t happen, as we’ve seen at the moment, we’ve got a large field of strong candidates.”

Ross' decision to replace the incumbent MP as the local candidate also sparked outrage as Duguid had been in hospital for two months with a serious spinal condition.

Duguid later insisted he could stand and rejected suggestions he was too sick to seek re-election.