At the risk of talking down a good, old-fashioned political scandal, suggestions that Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has become embroiled in the Westminster sleaze row deserve a sizeable question mark over them.
The Moray MP referred himself to the parliamentary standards commissioner after failing to declare income. Given the scrutiny that other Tory MPs are coming under, it is only natural that this news would be greeted with glee by opponents and journalists — and no doubt some sharp eyebrow-raising by the electors of Moray.
The errors have only come to light because Ross discovered them and reported himself to the standards commissioner
Alas, the details are pretty mundane. As well as an MP, Ross is also an MSP at Holyrood and a part-time linesman for the Scottish Football Association. (A Tory, a referee and two politicians walk into a bar and they’re all the most unpopular man in Scotland.) The Herald reports that Ross omitted ‘more than £28,000 in salaries’ for officiating 16 SFA matches and the first five months of his Holyrood salary from May through September.
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