Douglas Ross: Tory minister resigns in protest at Dominic Cummings lockdown row

'I cannot in good faith tell [my constituents' that they were all wrong and one senior adviser to the government was right'

A Tory minister has resigned in protest at the row over Dominic Cummings' alleged breach of coronavirus lockdown rules.

In a blow to the government's efforts to move on from the scandal, Douglas Ross, a minister in the Scotland Office, said he was resigning after hearing Mr Cummings defence of his actions, a view which he said was "not shared by the majority".

Mr Ross said in his resignation letter: "I have constituents who didn't get to say goodbye to their loved ones; families who could not mourn together; people who did not visit sick relatives because they followed the guidance of the government.

"I cannot in good faith tell them that they were all wrong and one senior adviser to the government was right."

The Moray MP also dismissed the argument put forward by Boris Johnson and others that Mr Cummings' actions were excusable because he was acting in the best interest of his family.

He said: “As a father myself, my instinct is to always do what is best for my wife and son. We have been fortunate not to have caught this awful virus but if we did, we are prepared to follow the government advice and stay at home to contain this virus.”

Mr Ross accepted the senior adviser's intentions "may have been well meaning" but said the public reaction made it clear that his interpretation of the rules was "not shared by the majority".

Senior Scottish Conservatives broke ranks to raise their concerns over Mr Cummings, with Adam Tomkins, the shadow strategy secretary, saying it was clear that he should be sacked.

He said: "To lose Douglas [Ross] from government is a disaster. His was one of clearest voices for the union in government.

"It shows exactly why Cummings should be sacked. I suspect others will follow where Douglas has led."

Donald Cameron, the shadow finance secretary, tweeted Mr Ross: "Well done, my friend."

First minister Nicola Sturgeon said "fair play" to Mr Ross for resigning, adding: "Like what I would suspect is the majority of the population, he believes that Dominic Cummings' actions were not acceptable and the handling of that and the retrospective rewriting of the rules is not acceptable either.

"I think he's taken the principled position of resigning from the UK government and we will see if others decide to follow suit."

A No 10 spokesman said Mr Johnson "regrets'' Mr Ross' decision to quit the government over the Mr Cummings row.

The spokesman said: "The prime minister would like to thank Douglas Ross for his service to government and regrets his decision to stand down as parliamentary under secretary of state for Scotland.''

The shock resignation comes as the government was frantically battling to regain control of the narrative after the row over Mr Cummings' actions dominated the bank holiday weekend.

The senior aide was forced to take part in an extraordinary press conference on Monday, where he said he had travelled to his parents home in Durham at the end of March after his wife Mary fell ill.

They stayed in an "isolated property" on his father's farm, where the following day he woke up in pain and "clearly had Covid symptoms".

By April 11 he was still feeling "weak and exhausted" but had no coronavirus symptoms, so he considered returning to work. But as his eyesight had been affected by the disease, his wife did not want to risk the long drive back to London, so they went on a "short drive" to Barnard Castle.

The family returned to London on 13 April, and he returned to work the next day, Mr Cummings said.

Michael Gove, the cabinet office minister, earlier defended Mr Cummings - a long-time ally - saying people will "make their own mind up" about his actions.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "What's clear is that he didn't break the law, he didn't break the rules, he sought to protect his family.

"And he also sought to ensure the risk of anyone in his family infecting anyone else was absolutely minimised."