THE LEADER of the Scottish Conservatives has been urged to choose between his jobs at Holyrood and Westminster by the SNP.
Douglas Ross has come under intense scrutiny recently after The Herald revealed he had failed to declare earnings for 16 games he had refereed, as well as his MSP salary which he donates to charity.
He since apologised for the "oversight", saying he was unable to explain how the mistake had been made but had now registered all his relevant earnings with the House of Commons officials.
He has also reported himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner for investigation.
The SNP MSP Karen Adam has now written to Mr Ross, MP for Moray, calling for him to decide whether he wants to be an MP or MSP.
The Conservative politician has previously said he would not be seeking re-election to Westminster in the next elections, but that he intends to continue with his refereeing work.
In her letter, Ms Adam said Mr Ross had shown "brazen hypocrisy...over the past few weeks towards your constituents and the people of Scotland."
She continued: "It was revealed in the press that you ‘forgot’ to declare £30,000 worth of earnings to the House of Commons.
"While most people find this completely ridiculous, it is further compounded when you consider that people, some of whom will be our constituents, are cruelly punished by your party for missing appointments with the DWP, despite presenting legitimate reasons for absence."
Ms Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, said her constituents opinions showed Mr Ross was "more detached from public opinion than you think" and added: "Many would love to have £30,000 as their basic salary.
"In most cases it would be a life-changing amount.
"It would certainly not be treated as a negligible amount as you have dismissed it as. The average salary in Scotland is just over £25,000, demonstrating again how out of touch you truly are with the people of Scotland."
READ MORE: 'You tried to overturn a two year probe in two hours': MPs react after Owen Paterson u-turn
She then urged Mr Ross to decide whether he wished to be either an MP or MSP, saying he should "seriously reflect on that and decide which job you would prefer to have going forward – an MSP or an MP and you should consider your position in each of these jobs and decide which is more important to you."
The Scottish Conservatives have been contacted for comment.
He also had not declared his MP salary - around £21,000 per year due to his dual role - to officials.
The Conservative party has been under fire in recent weeks over allegations of sleaze and corruption, when it emerged Sir Geoffrey Cox MP earned an additional £1m from legal work on top of his MP salary last year, and also spent time in the Caribbean during lockdown.
READ MORE: Millionaire MP Geoffrey Cox denies rule breaking after using Commons office for legal work
He was working for the government of the British Virgin Islands on an inquiry into corruption, and used his proxy powers to vote in Commons debates remotely.
He was also seen in video footage taking part in the BVI inquiry from his Parliamentary office in Westminster - which has resulted in a report to the Standards Commissioner.
MPs are not supposed to use their taxpayer funded services for outside interests.
The Cox affair followed the Owen Paterson scandal, in which the Conservative government tried to change to way MPs are investigated for wrongdoing in an attempt to save him from being potentially suspended for 30 days, or losing his seat altogether.
The government was forced to u-turn the following day after huge backlash and Mr Paterson resigned.
He had been found to have committed an "egregious breach" of the rules by lobbying the government on behalf of two private companies, earning around £100,000 a year.
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