Scots Tory leader would back Leave if a second vote was held

The leader of the Scottish Conservatives has revealed he would campaign for Leave if another vote was to be held on Brexit.

Jackson Carlaw said he had changed his mind on the European Union since campaigning for Remain in 2016 and insisted the result of the referendum must be respected.

He said another vote - or a fresh referendum on independence - would create a “corrosive” atmosphere in the country.

Mr Carlaw said: “I would campaign to leave. Since 2016, the EU itself has changed.

Jackson Carlaw visited Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Glasgow, while on the General Election campaign trail. Picture: PA

“It’s now seeking to created a united army of the European Union by 2025, I can’t support that.

“I believe in other ways, too, the European Union has changed.”

He added: “I believe, having gone through this whole process, what people need is clarity, I don’t believe we can go through another referendum on this or independence without the atmosphere being corrosive and brutal.

“I think, after three years, people now want the clarity that comes from moving forward and I believe that we will leave the European Union.”

Mr Carlaw was also asked about his support for Boris Johnson on the radio programme.

He said he would not judge the Prime Minister on comments he has made in the past but on his record as in Number 10.

Mr Johnson has come under fire for a number of comments made in newspaper and magazine columns, written before he took office.

He previously compared women wearing the niqab to “letter boxes” and “bank robbers”, as well as other remarks deemed to be derogatory towards black people and members of the LGBT community.

Asked about his views on the comments, Mr Carlaw said: “When I saw the Prime Minister before the election, I said to him what I said on broadcast media previously, which is that I’m going to judge the Prime Minister on what he says and does as Prime Minister, not what he said before he was Prime Minister.”

Mr Carlaw said he would not use the terms Mr Johnson has been criticised for using.

He added: “The specific things that I have asked - that he put the union at the heart of this campaign, that he respond to specific issues that we face here in Scotland and that he put them in the manifesto.”