Ruth Davidson quits as Scottish Tory leader in rebellion at Boris suspending parliament

Ms Davidson is known to be strongly opposed to the UK quitting the bloc on October 31 without a deal in place, and her decision may be motivated by Mr Johnson’s decision to seek a suspension of Parliament, which was ratified by the Queen today. BBC political editor Laure Kuennsberg tweeted: “Ruth Davidson is considering her position and set to quit – no official confirmation tonight, sources indicate not direct result of today’s announcement from No 10 – mixture of personal and political reasons building over recent months.” Express.co.uk has contacted Ms Davidson’s office and Scottish Conservatives seeking official confirmation of the news.

Ms Davidson backed Remain prior to the EU referendum, and also offered public support to opponents of Mr Johnson during the Conservative leadership contest.

Writing last month in the Scottish Mail on Sunday, Ms Davidson said: “When I was debating against the pro-Brexit side in 2016, I don’t remember anybody saying we should crash out of the EU with no arrangements in place to help maintain the vital trade that flows uninterrupted between Britain and the European Union.

“I don’t think the government should pursue a no-deal Brexit and, if it comes to it, I won’t support it.”

The Sun quoted a senior Conservative source as saying: “She’s tried to juggle motherhood with being the very high-profile leader of the opposition in Scotland, and it’s taken its toll.

“All of this has been made more difficult with the current political climate, where she’s found herself at increasing odds with the new leadership in London.”

Scottish broadcaster STV is also reporting that Davidson would quit.

Ms Davidson, 40, who had a baby last year, has been leader of the party north of the border since 2011.

Earlier today, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “Given her past statements opposing a no deal Brexit, it would be good to have confirmation from Ruth Davidson today that all Scots Tory MPs will back the cross party effort next week to stop it – and that they will also oppose Boris Johnson’s attempt to shut down Parliament.”

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Mr Johnson was discouraged from travelling to Scotland for the Scottish Conservative Party conference in May, with Scottish Tories concerned he would take the limelight away from their leader.

She justified the decision to allow Michael Gover to attend but not Mr Johnson by saying: “There’s a lot of people want to appear at our conference.”

With then Prime Minister Theresa May yet to resign, Ms Davidson later told Northsound 1 radio station there was no vacancy for party leader, adding: “When that happens, when we see the candidates that are put forward, the things that I will look for as leader of the Scottish Conservatives are I want someone who is going to strengthen and have a commitment to the United Kingdom, to advance Scotland’s interests within the United Kingdom and also crucially who wants to bring the UK back together after Brexit because that’s been as divisive for the whole UK as independence has been here in Scotland.

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“That’s what I want to see and I’ll assess the candidates when they put their names forward.”

Questioned about whether she could see herself backing Mr Johnson, she observed that in the last leadership contest he “didn’t get across the start line”, adding: “So we’ll see what the field is and then I will make my decision.”