THE Scottish Tories are suffering “disaster after disaster” according to the Scottish Greens following a number of recent high-profile controversies for Douglas Ross’s party.
Following a slew of mishaps for Ross, the running of the Scottish Tory party has come under increased scrutiny – with Craig Paterson, a newly hired staffer, being sacked before he could take up his position.
This came after the Tories claimed he had falsified a part of his CV which allegedly stated he had worked for ex Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy.
Murphy took to Twitter to dispel any notion that he had employed or ever met Paterson, saying the scandal was a "bizarre fantasy from the Scottish Tories.”
The announcement of Paterson’s ousting followed the publication of a note circulated by Ross among his staff that talked up Paterson’s credentials.
It said: “Craig arrives with extensive knowledge of Scottish politics, having once been a key part of Scottish Labour’s operations."
His chief of staff Jon Novakovic is set to leave his role at the end of October while David Bateman, the party's director of communications, and Harley Lothian, head of digital, will leave Ross’s team in two weeks' time.
The string of controversies and departures has sparked intrigue across Holyrood with opposing parties taking note of Ross’s woes.
The Scottish Greens said it has been “disaster after disaster” for Ross but that his troubles have been nothing compared to the “chaos that his Tory friends have inflicted on millions of people across the country”.
The spokesperson added: "It's no wonder that so many of his closest aides have been resigning when he couldn't even bring himself to decide whether or not Boris Johnson was fit to be PM."
"He may be excited about the growing number of vacancies in Tory HQ though, it's clear that one job has never been enough and now he has the chance to add even more to his CV."
This is not the first time Ross's leadership has been called into question as his flip-flopping on support for Boris Johnson through the partygate scandal did little to help the Scottish Tory leader's image.
And more recently, he refused to publicly back a candidate in the Tory leadership and claimed he hadn't even been watching the hustings previous to the debate in Perth.
And now it has been reported that there are serious concerns over Ross's leadership within his own party.
Paul Hutcheon, political editor of the Daily Record tweeted: "Senior Scots Tories believe Douglas Ross’s leadership is drifting. No strategy, purpose and increasingly - as we can see from the last 24 hours - no staff."
The Scottish Tories have been contacted for comment.
