Boris Johnson's unpopularity in Scotland 'irrelevant' to Holyrood election, says Douglas Ross

Douglas Ross has argued that Boris Johnson's unpopularity in Scotland is irrelevant in the Holyrood election as the SNP raised the prospect of another independence referendum this year if Nicola Sturgeon gets a majority.

The Scottish Tory leader accepted the Prime Minister would "play a role" in the campaign ahead of the planned May 6 ballot but insisted the party he leads is "distinct" from the UK Conservatives.

Pressed whether Mr Johnson was a "help of hindrance" to him, with the Prime Minister having low approval ratings in Scotland, Mr Ross did not directly answer the question but noted that "he is not standing for election to Holyrood - I am."

The SNP is expected to argue that Scots need to choose at the ballot box between being ruled by Mr Johnson or having another vote on separating from the UK, with Ms Sturgeon at the helm.

But, following a week in which Ms Sturgeon and Alex Salmond have traded a barrage of accusations and blows, Mr Ross said the SNP's "lies and deceit" were damaging public trust in the Scottish Parliament.

He said the Nationalists had used their 14 years in in government to focus on "division, constitutional wrangling, and trying to separate Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom" rather than improving the education system or the NHS.

His intervention came as Ian Blackford, the SNP's Westminster leader, insisted again that another separation referendum could be staged this year if Ms Sturgeon succeeds in winning a majority in May.

Mr Blackford insisted the SNP government's priority was tackling the pandemic, but then said a referendum Bill was ready to be passed in June and the vote could take place six months later.

Speaking at the Scottish Government's Covid briefing on Friday, Ms Sturgeon refused to be drawn on the timetable. Although most recent polls have shown majority support for independence, it has also been low on voters' list of priorities.

Speaking at an online event staged by the think tank Bright Blue, Mr Ross argued the Prime Minister's lack of popularity north of the Border was irrelevant.

He said: "I lead the party in Scotland, it is the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, it is distinct from the UK party.

"I'm the leader, I'm standing for election to Holyrood with my colleagues and it is our manifesto that is agreed in Scotland by me in Scotland and my team."

Mr Ross said his resignation as a Scotland Office Minister in protest at Dominic Cummings alleged breach of lockdown rules showed "I go into this election as someone who will stand up for Scotland when I think it is in the best interests of the country."

He added: "That sometimes means going against my party, it means standing up to authority and I think that is the right thing to do."

Of the civil war between Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon, he said: "I think it's damaging the SNP brand because clearly people don't know who to trust. There's so much lies and deceit clearly in the heart of government...

"It's damaging Scottish politics, it's damaging the reputation of our parliament. At 22 years old, we still have a very young parliament in Scotland and people expect far better than this."