Scottish Tories back "big time," insists Mundell, who says his party will represent those opposed to independence

Insisting that Scottish Tories would make a real difference at Westminster, Mr Mundell said: “The most important thing for Scotland that they’re going to do is not just buddy me up but they are going to represent the views of people in Scotland who oppose independence.

“What we have been saying for a long time is that the SNP are not Scotland. They did not represent the views of all of Scotland, they represented the views of people who supported and promoted independence.”

But Stewart Hosie, the acting leader of the SNP at Westminster, responded by tweeting: “SNP MPs represent ALL of their constituents. Worryingly it seems the Tories will now ignore almost half the people of Scotland.”

Mr Mundell argued that the General Election result in Scotland was a clear verdict from the people of Scotland that they did not want another independence referendum.

“The only person who still doesn’t seem to be listening to that, the only person in denial about that, is Nicola Sturgeon,” he declared.

“The loss of 21 SNP MPs and but for 600 votes the loss of another six SNP MPs is a very clear message: indyref2 is off the table and my colleagues and I are going to be concentrating on the issues that matter to our constituents and to the people of Scotland.”

He then told reporters: “The Scottish Conservatives have waited a long time to come back in Scotland but we’re back big time.”

Mr Mundell explained how the new Scottish Tory group would seek to have the “maximum amount of influence within parliament…across a whole range of issues”.

Asked if the Scottish Tory Westminster Group were Theresa May’s MPs or Ruth Davidson’s, the secretary of state said they were in fact both.

“We are Scottish Conservative and Unionist but we are part of Theresa May’s parliamentary group here at Westminster. We will be speaking up for Scotland, getting the best possible influence for Scotland and people who believe in the United Kingdom but we will also be backing Theresa May and the Government as it moves forward with Brexit and all the other issues.”

Asked if the 13 Scottish Tory MPs would operate as a party within a party, the Scottish secretary made clear they would take the Conservative whip. “What we will be looking to do is to use our influence to ensure in terms of the legislation and other votes brought forward in this parliament but we will be wanting to support the Government…We are not a separate party, we part of the Conservative parliamentary party.”

But he then said: "What we will be seeking to ensure is that when we go into the voting lobbies we will make absolutely sure that the votes we are casting are for the benefit of the people of Scotland and for the benefit of our constituents. That's what our job is."

On Brexit, Mr Mundell said the party was committed to getting the best economic deal for Scotland and seeking to work with the Scottish Government to this end.

“The time for politicking, the time for press release diplomacy is over. This is a time for mature and adult discussions and I hope that is the basis on which we can proceed with the Scottish Government because it’s in all our interests that we work together and the get best possible deal for Scotland and indeed the whole of the UK,” he added.

Meantime, speculation is rising that John Lamont, a former party whip at Holyrood and the new MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, could be appointed as a junior minister at the Scotland Office, bolstering its presence in Whitehall.

Baroness Goldie, the former Scottish Conservative leader, who is a whip in the House of Lords is also being tipped to replace Lord Dunlop as Scotland Office minister in the second chamber. Lord Dunlop stood down from his role following the election.