Boris Johnson will not be visiting Scotland before the local elections on Thursday next week.
The Prime Minister has insisted he is an asset to his party's electoral fortunes, however he also did not campaign for the Tories north of the border ahead of the Holyrood elections last year.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross was asked during a campaign visit near Glasgow whether Mr Johnson would be travelling to Scotland before polling day on May 5.
"He didn't come up during the Holyrood elections last year and he's not coming up before the elections," Mr Ross told reporters yesterday.
Most Scottish Tory MSPs favoured Jeremy Hunt to Mr Johnson in the last round of the Tory leadership contest in 2019 and were concerned about the impact on the party's support in Scotland when he won the race.
Tensions have heightened further between the Tories north and south of the border over the partygate with Mr Ross being among the first Conservative MPs to call for Mr Johnson's resignation over the scandal.
The Scottish Conservative leader later changed his mind and backed the PM due to the military support the UK Government has given to Ukraine following the Russian invasion in February.
Mr Johnson was fined last week by the police for breaking lockdown rules by attending a celebration for his birthday in Downing Street in June 2020. A Metropolitan Police investigation is continuing into wider alleged rule breaking.
After the police have completed their investigation a report by senior civil servant Sue Gray is to be published.
The probe is said to be so damning that senior officials believe it will leave Mr Johnson with no choice but to resign.
The Times reported on Monday that the senior civil servant, who’s been tasked with conducting the initial internal inquiry into a number of parties that took place in Whitehall over lockdown, is understood to be highly critical of the Prime Minister both for attending some of the events and for the culture in No 10.
“Sue’s report is excoriating,” one official told the paper.
“It will make things incredibly difficult for the Prime Minister. There’s an immense amount of pressure on her — her report could be enough to end him. No official has ever been in a position like this before.”
It’s known that the Conservative leader attended at least six of the 12 events in Downing Street that are being investigated by the Metropolitan Police.
Ms Gray has already said she is unable to publish a “meaningful report” until the Met concludes its investigation.
The Prime Minister has been touring other parts of the UK in the run up to local elections on May 5.
Asked on Monday if he was still an asset to the Tories during a campaign visit in Bury, Mr Johnson said: “I’m not denying that.”
He added: “I think that the greatest asset the Conservatives have are Conservative values and the way that Conservative councillors up and down the country deliver taxpayer value.
“That’s what really matters and I think that’s what people will be focused on. And we will be fighting for every vote right up ’til polling day.”
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