Top Tory spin doctor accused of favouritism in leadership campaign

Sunday 2 October 2011

THE Conservatives' top spin doctor in Scotland is under intense pressure over claims he has been advising one of the candidates in the party's leadership election.

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EXCLUSIVE by Paul Hutcheon and Tom Gordon

Ramsay Jones – who as the party’s head of media has to be neutral in the contest – attended a meeting at Ruth Davidson’s house with her campaign strategists. The party’s chairman had previously instructed staff not to take sides in the contest.

Early last month, the campaign team of another candidate, Murdo Fraser, raised concerns with party chairman Andrew Fulton about whether Jones was helping Davidson.Fulton told Fraser’s campaign that the matter would be looked into.The chairman then informed staff that they had to remain “strictly neutral” during the contest. Fulton also gave Jones the same message face-to-face. It is further understood that another candidate, Jackson Carlaw, spoke to Jones directly about his concerns.However, despite Fulton’s order, this newspaper can reveal that Jones attended a meeting at Davidson’s Glasgow home on Sunday, September 18. The session focused on various strands of the Davidson campaign. Asked if he attended the meeting, Jones said: “I’m not going to comment.”Davidson last night said there had been no “campaign team” meeting on September 18. However, her team did not deny there had been a meeting which focused on campaign issues.

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Top Tory spin doctor accused of favouritism in leadership campaign

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