Scottish Tories conference: Douglas Ross speaks of concerns for family as he opens up over ‘worsening’ threats and intimidation of MPs

The Scottish Conservative leader said he has ‘an awful lot of fear’ about the future of politics

Douglas Ross has opened up about his concerns for his family as he warned the level of threats and intimidation politicians face has got "considerably worse" in recent years.

The Scottish Conservative leader, who has previously spoken of receiving death threats, said he is away from home a lot and worries about his wife and their two young sons.

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He said he has "an awful lot of fear" about the future of politics.

Scottish Tories leader Douglas Ross is interviewed by The Scotsman's political editor Alistair GrantScottish Tories leader Douglas Ross is interviewed by The Scotsman's political editor Alistair Grant
Scottish Tories leader Douglas Ross is interviewed by The Scotsman's political editor Alistair Grant

Mr Ross made the comments in an interview with The Scotsman ahead of the Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen.

Elsewhere, he insisted the Tories can “make some gains across Scotland” at the coming general election. The party has seven MPs north of the border, following the defection of Lisa Cameron from the SNP.

Mr Ross is the MP for Moray as well as an MSP, but is standing down from Westminster at the election to focus on Holyrood.

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A £31 million funding package was recently announced to help bolster the security of MPs, with safety concerns growing in the wake of the war in Gaza. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, referenced threats against politicians after he was strongly criticised for his handling of a debate on calls for a ceasefire.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas RossScottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross

The Speaker has since faced calls for his resignation, but Mr Ross backed him, saying: “I don’t think now is the time to change the Speaker.” However, he said Sir Lindsay “made a huge mistake” and “ripped up the rule book” during the ceasefire vote.

Asked if he had concerns about his own safety, or that of his family, Mr Ross said: "I have. I don't speak about it a lot. I try to deal with it individually. But we've had to make our house a lot more secure.

"I'm away from home a lot and it's a worry that my wife and our young kids are at home a lot when we know there are groups that say they're going to target the properties of members of parliament."

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He added: "For as long as I've been in elected office, there have been people who don't like what I said as a councillor, as an MSP, as an MP, but it's never felt as difficult as this.

"And my biggest worry is that it puts very good people off seeking to stand for elected office. If you are someone who could contribute greatly to public life in Scotland or across the UK, you will look at the threats and intimidation that MPs, MSPs and others are facing at the moment and think 'why bother?' And our democracy will suffer as a result of that.

"My number one priority is keeping my family safe, and just before we had this discussion I had an update from my local police about the operation to keep MPs safe, and that's good, it's good that they're in contact, but it also reminds you very clearly that these threats are genuine. People have gone to court and been punished for death threats against me in the lead up to the 2021 election, but nothing seems to change it.

"I've lost a friend and colleague in David Amess, murdered at his surgery, and if anything things have got worse since then. And I just don't understand how we can get ourselves in a situation where people currently in elected office can feel threatened and vulnerable, particularly their family and my staff who are at the frontline in my constituency office, when we should be able to have what are very serious and important debates without those threats and intimidation coming to the forefront.

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"And I wish that had improved over my time as an MP, as I look to stand down from Westminster, but there's no doubt it's got considerably worse since I was first elected in 2017. And that brings an awful lot of fear for me about what that does for our politics going forward."

Mr Ross said his house in Moray was “an awful lot more secure than it probably needs to be as a traditional family home”, adding: “Myself and my staff have obviously been issued with panic buttons and such like when we're out and about."

The Scottish Tory leader said: "The fact that the police had to contact me today on the back of threats that MPs have had just shows how serious it is. And I've got to explain to my wife, who puts up with an awful lot – I'm away from home a lot, she gets spoken to about things I've said or done at work and when she's out socially – to also tell her we've had another update about MP security and we might have to do this and that differently, I think is wrong.

"I chose this role. I chose to be involved in politics. That doesn't mean my wife and my family have to be dragged into it."

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He added: "I don't speak about this much. I'm not trying to get any sympathy or anything like that. But I think people do have to realise the impact it has. OK, on the politicians, we put ourselves front and centre – but the people who work for us are only trying to help our constituents, and our family are only there to support us. But when they're getting dragged into this, and I think this is across the political spectrum, it's completely wrong."

Mr Ross said he had also raised "severe concerns" about security in the Scottish Parliament following recent protests around entrances to the building. He said he was having further conversations with security this week.

"I'm all for freedom of speech, but we cannot have a situation where people feel intimidated coming into their parliament,” he added.

Mr Ross said Holyrood bosses had to take the issue more seriously.

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Elsewhere, he said the Tories were “looking to make gains” at the general election, but refused to be drawn on how many seats the party was targeting.

"I think we can have a really good election result here in Scotland,” he said. “I think we can hold on to what we’ve got. I think we can make some gains across Scotland as well.”

He said electing Scottish Tory MPs would “send the strongest possible message to [First Minister] Humza Yousaf that he is not delivering for people across Scotland”.

Listen to the full interview with Douglas Ross on the latest episode of The Steamie, The Scotsman’s politics podcast.

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