RED CARD FOR ROSS

Party chief shocks colleagues on 'day of shame' over MP role U-turn | Duguid ousted while in hospital despite wanting to stand in election

- PAUL HUTCHEON

TORY leader Douglas Ross plunged his party's election campaign into yesterday by launching a fresh bid to return to Westminster as an MP.

The MSP, who also has a current second job as a top flight assistant referee, was accused of betrayal after he replaced a candidate recovering from a spinal injury.

David Duguid was in hospital when he was blocked and Ross nipped in to declare he wanted to run for the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat.

SNP campaign director Stewart Hosie said: "This is a day of shame for the Tories with three-jobs Douglas Ross taking a seat from David Duguid to keep his third salary at Westminster.

"The way the Tories have treated Mr Duguid is indefensible. The nasty party just got nastier.

Ross had promised he wouldn't stand for his Moray Westminster seat again, so the move left party colleagues at Holyrood shocked.

He won the Westminster seat in 2017 and juggled his MP duties with being an MSP for the Highlands and a linesman.

Announcing his shock decision to stand again as an MP, Ross described Duguid as a "friend and colleague and said it was with "regret the party management board decided he could not proceed as the party's candidate.

He claimed he needed to stand for the seat to "lead from the front".

One Tory MSP blasted: "The optics of this look terrible, putting personal ambition before party. The candidate recovers in hospital and has been ruthlessly ditched.

"Yet another U-turn from Douglas Ross straight out of the Farage playbook."