A SCOTS Tory MP who compared owning a dog to starting a family has been branded out of touch.
Ross Thomson said having a dog "changes your priorities – it's like having a child".
He said if he was prime minister for a day he would make it legal for everyone to take their pooch to work.
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Rumbles said: "Ross Thomson seems totally out of touch.
"Surely the people of Aberdeen South have more pressing concerns for him to deal with than pets in the workplace?"
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During an interview with Core Politics, Mr Thomson also said he grew "frustrated" with Tory politics as a student because it was full of tweedy polo players.
He said: “It’s probably no surprise that lots of Tories when at university like to wear salmon pink trousers, a little bit of tweed, play polo, two things that I really hate.
“So I didn’t get all that involved. Apologies to the Tory students who are watching – that’s not a slight against all of you, just those of you who wear salmon pink trousers. That’s not right.”
When asked about the funniest person in the Commons, the Aberdeen South MP revealed an unlikely friendship with Scottish Labour's Danielle Rowley.
He said: "She’s got a fantastic sense of humour. We are kind of on the same wavelength.
“The other day, with the Scottish Affairs Committee, we were having a laugh on the plane back to London.
“We were probably a little bit louder than we should have [been]. We were talking about how we like Brexit like we like our men – we prefer it to be hard rather than soft.”
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Mr Thomson, 30, who has previously spoken out about the homophobic abuse he receives on social media, said he saved some of the mocked-up pictures sent to him by “cybernats” on Twitter because he found them funny.
He said he never wanted to be prime minister because it’s a “thankless job” and he wouldn’t get to see enough of his dog, Poppy.
But asked what he would do if he was in the top job for a day, he said: "I would make it legal for everyone, every day to take their dog to work.
"I think it would be the best thing for happiness and the best thing for the country."
Mr Rumbles said this answer was at least "less sinister" than the one given by Scottish Tory MP Douglas Ross, who said he would "like to see tougher enforcement against Gypsy travellers" when quizzed by Core Politics.
Mr Thomson – who rose to prominence as a Brexit campaigner – was previously accused of gross insensitivity after joking about Saddam Hussein while on a fact-finding visit to Iraq.
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