Boris Johnson did the right thing, says Scottish Tory MP

Boris Johnson ended his bid to return as prime minister in the national interest, a Scottish Conservative MP has said.

Since the ex-PM announced on Sunday that he would not put his name forward, Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt remain in the running to replace Liz Truss.

MP Andrew Bowie told BBC Scotland Mr Johnson had done the "right thing".

Nicola Sturgeon said she was relieved that the "ridiculous notion" of his return was "knocked on the head".

The race for the party's new leader was set in motion after Liz Truss was forced to stand down after 45 days in office - the shortest premiership of any UK prime minister.

Ms Truss's policy programme spooked the financial markets and her successor will be tasked with establishing stability.

Candidates with 100 or more supporters will proceed in the process, which states a winner should be announced on Friday. However, if only one candidate reaches the threshold they could become leader on Monday.

Mr Sunak is the firm favourite to replace Ms Truss as PM and could do so by as early as Monday afternoon if Ms Mordaunt fails to meet the benchmark.

According to BBC figures, which are being updated here, former chancellor Mr Sunak has 193 Conservative MPs who have publicly given him their backing, while Ms Mordaunt has 26.

The question remains as to whether Ms Mordaunt can get 100 MPs to back her before nominations close at 14:00 BST.

Speaking on BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme Mr Bowie, Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, said Mr Johnson - who only stood down as prime minister seven weeks ago - stepping out of the leadership race was the "right thing to do".

"I think what Boris did yesterday was definitely in the national interest," he said. "The last thing we need is another prolonged battle for the heart and soul of the Conservative party.

"We need to get this done quickly and get it over with as soon as possible in the national interest so we can get the economy on a firm footing and move the whole country forward.

"A general election, even for a snap general election, by law necessitates six weeks of campaigning. That is six weeks when parliament isn't sitting and six weeks where government isn't getting down to business."

Mr Bowie, who is backing Rishi Sunak, added: "Looking at the numbers it was clear that had he entered the race he would have been beaten in the MP's ballot."

Boris Johnson's final months in office were dogged by accusations he broke ministerial rules by not telling the truth about parties in Downing Street during the Covid lockdown.

He remains under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Committee, which could lead to him being suspended from Parliament, or being kicked out as an MP.

On Sunday, Scottish Conservatives chairman Craig Hoy told BBC Scotland his colleagues were "very frustrated" by the UK party's leadership turmoil and wanted to focus on holding the SNP to account over independence.

The first minister said people were tired of the "Tory soap opera psychodrama".

"It is appalling given the difficulties people across the country are living through right now," Ms Sturgeon said.

She added: "I think everybody will breathe a sigh of relief that the ridiculous notion of Johnson coming back as prime minister has been knocked on the head."

But Ms Sturgeon said what the next prime minster does would be more important than their personality.

"What is of profound concern to everybody, particularly to me right now, is that the Tories are about to unleash another wave of austerity on all of us. It is going to be a horror show," the first minister said.

"Scottish public services, cannot withstand, in my view, another round of Tory austerity.

"We need an alternative to that and if Rishi Sunak becomes prime minister today or later in the week, as I suspect he will, what we know is that next Monday his chancellor is going to stand up in the House of Commons and unveil a round of cuts that the Scottish government and public services are going to be powerless to withstand."

Former Conservative MEP Lord Ian Duncan said he did not think there should be a general election, despite the last one in 2019 seeming "like a lifetime ago", or a return to the Conservative party members deciding on their next leader.

"Right now we do need a period of stability and once we've got that stability then it is time for an election," he said. "But at that point, I wonder if Ian Blackford will be shouting in exactly the same way because at that point there may well be a restoration in the fortunes of the Tory party."

But he agreed that Mr Johnson was right not to attempt to become prime minister again.

"Boris may well have been a vote winner but once you've shot yourself in both feet it's very hard to run a race," Lord Duncan said.

"Right now we need to have a period where common sense applies to the economy and it will be judged not wholly by the people but actually by the markets themselves. The markets will determine whether the common sense is working or not."