DOUGLAS Ross is no longer scheduled to appear at a Pride event after a row over comments he made about a drag queen.
The Scottish Conservative leader had been expected to attend the PinkNews Pride Reception event in Holyrood later this week.
But PinkNews have now confirmed he will no longer be appearing. A spokesperson for the online news site would not confirm why he was no longer slated to appear.
It comes after the Tory MSP, also the MP for Moray, ignited controversy earlier this month when he criticised a drag queen “story time” event in his constituency.
The Scottish Conservatives said his decision to pull out was due to a "last-minute change in his diary commitments".
The events, which feature a drag queen reading a story to children, take place throughout the world but are often the subject of protests.
Ross said the event, which saw Miss Lossie Mouth read to children aged up to six years old at Elgin Library, was “total inappropriate”.
PinkNews would not confirm if his comments – which saw him branded a “nasty little bigot” by Greens MSP Ross Greer – were the reason he would no longer attend the event in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for PinkNews said: “No Douglas Ross will not be speaking at the reception.”
The West of Scotland Tory MSP Jamie Greene, one of just two Conservatives to back the Scottish Government’s transgender law reforms earlier this year, is expected to attend the event.
John Naples-Campbell, who performs as Miss Lossie Mouth, said Ross should be "held accountable" for his criticisms of the event, which went ahead on Saturday and drew a crowd of more than 100 people.
In a statement, he said: "The hate has been hurtful, not just to me but also my family and husband.
"No one deserves this. Douglas Ross should be held accountable for his words and the hate that has been directed towards me and [the LGBT+] community.”
A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: "Very regrettably Douglas is no longer able to attend this event due to a last-minute change in his diary commitments.
"He has had to make a number of changes to his diary in recent weeks and this is one such event that was affected.
“He apologised to PinkNews for the short notice and will ensure that one of his Scottish Conservative colleagues in the Scottish Parliament speaks at this event, on top of it being sponsored by Jamie Greene.
“Douglas is fully supportive of the fantastic work PinkNews continue to do in supporting the LGBT+ community and hopes the event is a great success.”
