SCOTTISH Tory leader Douglas Ross was slammed as “spineless” today after withdrawing his call for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign.

Mr Ross withdrew his demand for Mr Johnson to go over the partygate saga, saying “anything else just seems trivial” compared with the war in Ukraine.

Speaking to the BBC today, Mr Ross said: “We should be supporting the government to support the people of Ukraine, because the real threat to everything at the moment is from Vladimir Putin.

“It’s not actions that took place a couple of years ago, serious though they are.

“It’s the actions that are happening right now, with people dying, children losing their lives and a country being destroyed through no fault of their own.

“Anything else just seems trivial.”

Labour leader Anas Sarwar said Mr Ross “should not be using the Ukraine crisis to go back on his principles.”

Liberal Democrats MSP Wille Rennie said the Tory leader had “the backbone of a jellyfish.”

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford called the climbdown from Mr Ross “an utterly humiliating U-turn.

“Only a few weeks ago he was categorical that Boris Johnson should be removed from Downing Street over his repeated rule-breaking.”

Mr Blackford added “of course the entire Tory MSP group in Holyrood backed Douglas Ross” so no doubt they will “be furious that he has marched them up a hill and now left them looking ridiculous.

“Spineless” Mr Ross has “ended up catastrophically undermining his own position” as Tory leader in Scotland, Mr Blackford said.

Mr Johnson is expected to attend the Scottish Tory conference in Aberdeen next week. He had originally planned to address the conference by video link but the statement from Mr Ross has smoothed the path for the Prime Minister’s attendance.