Scottish tory leader Ruth Davidson has come under fire
after joking that Scots aren’t usually invited to plush events for fear they
might cause damage or steal items.
The Scottish Conservative leader was speaking at an event
attended by Prime Minister Theresa May when she told the audience: “I’m
delighted we have such spectacular surroundings,”
The Tory MSP added: “Usually they put the Scots in a place
where nothing can be broken. Or stolen for that matter!”
The joke from Davidson, whose Scottish Conservative party
recently overtook Scottish Labour as the second force at Holyrood, has been
savaged on social media. One angry
respondent attacked the remark, saying: “What a distasteful comment to make
about the people you represent.”
Another accused Davidson of having insulted the whole of
Scotland, saying: “This has made me even more furious than @theresa.may saying
we have no say in #Brexit. She has insulted EVERYONE in Scotland.”
The Scottish Conservative leader is no stranger to
controversy. In 2012 the MSP claimed
almost nine out of 10 Scottish households take more from the public purse than
they contribute in taxes.
More recently she attracted criticism after describing a
lesbian Labour MP as a “short-haired, flat shoes, shovel-faced lesbian”.
Davidson’s controversial joke coincides with news that her
party leader, PM Theresa May, is set to trigger Article 50 before March
2017. The move is expected to set in
motion a so-called ‘Hard Brexit’ that will see the whole of the UK leave the
European Union, losing access to the Single Market.
Despite voting overwhelmingly to remain part of the EU, May
has insisted there will be no special negotiations on behalf of Scotland. During the campaign for the 2014 independence
referendum, Ruth Davidson promised that voting No was the only way to protect
Scotland’s EU membership.
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