Scottish Tories ‘will have voice on PM’s union committee’

Douglas Ross has insisted he will be able to input into the new Cabinet committee to make the case for the union.

Scottish Tories ‘will have voice on PM’s union committee’ STV News

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has insisted he will be able to input into the new Cabinet committee set up by the Prime Minister to make the case for the union.

Ross welcomed the establishment of such an “extremely high level committee within Government” after the “troubles” experienced by the Tories’ Union unit

The committee was set up by Boris Johnson after Oliver Lewis left his position as head of Downing Street’s Union unit last week.

Mr Lewis, a veteran of the Brexit Vote Leave campaign, had been in the job for less than a fortnight and had replaced former Scottish MP Luke Graham.

The committee was set up by Boris Johnson.Getty Images

Ross will not be on the new committee – which will include the PM, chancellor Rishi Sunak, cabinet office minister Michael Gove and the secretaries of state of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

But he insisted: “I will be feeding into that and the Scottish Conservative voice will undoubtedly be heard.”

Speaking about the Union unit, he said: “You can’t hide that there has been troubles in that unit, but the Prime Minister has acted quite decisively to then move to this Cabinet committee.”

He said the arrangement of the Cabinet committee was similar to one which operated during the Brexit negotiations.

“I am sure with the Prime Minister chairing that and with senior members of the Cabinet as committee members, that will work very well,” Ross added.

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