Ruth Davidson says she would have sacked Boris Johnson

Ruth Davidson has said she would sack Boris Johnson if he was serving on her front bench as she called on the UK Conservatives to "get over its current nervous breakdown and man up a bit".

Ruth Davidson being interviewed at the Times Red Box fringe during the Conservative Party conference in Manchester

The Scottish Conservative leader said “nobody is unsackable” amid rifts in the cabinet over Brexit and speculation over Theresa May's future.

It follows weeks of speculation about whether the Foreign Secretary would resign from government, with Mr Johnson writing articles and giving interviews at odds with government policy on Brexit. The Prime Minister has refused to say whether she could get rid of Mr Johnson, and critics have accused Mrs May of being "too weak" to sack him.

While not naming the Foreign Secretary, the Scottish Tory leader said in relation to her own frontbench MSPs: "If any of you are thinking of writing something counter to policy you are out on your ear as no one is unsackable."

Interviewed for a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Ms Davidson did not rule out standing for a Westminster parliamentary seat in future, but said she didn't want to be Prime Minister as it was "the loneliest job".

She said protecting the Union was her top priority, but left the door open to the idea of entering Westminster politics to stop a Jeremy Corbyn from becoming Prime Minister, saying he was a "threat" to UK unity.

Asked whether she would satisfy the wishes of a large number of Conservative activists and 'save' her party by seeking the leadership, Ms Davidson said: "I don't think the party needs saving. I think it needs to get over its current nervous breakdown and man up a bit."