Former Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has declared a £25,000 donation six months after quitting. The Moray MSP registered the gift from party chairman Alasdair Locke for “future political activities”.
Ross faced a barrage of criticism in June after he was accused of trying elbow a sick colleague out of the way to stand for Westminster again. Ross had vowed to stand down from Westminster to focus on Holyrood but he made a u-turn at the last minute.
The decision was irrelevant in the end as he lost the general election contest, but the backlash cost him his job as leader. According to his register of interest, the football linesman is still raking in outside money.
The new entry states: “On 4 November 2024, I received a donation of £25,000 to be retained in connection with future political activities from Mr Alasdair Locke, a private individual. The gift was a cash donation to me as an individual. I established that the donation was from a permissible donor and accepted it on 4 November 2024.”
He has previously declared thousands of pounds already from officiating at football matches across the world.
Locke was appointed party chair recently after Russell Findlay succeeded Ross as leader. Locke, who is chairman of Motor Fuel Group and First Property Group, has donated over £1m to the Tories since 2017. He is also the former executive chairman of Abbot Group, a leading oil and gas business.
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