McLetchie quits as Scottish Tory leader
David McLetchie has announced he is stepping down as leader of the Scottish Conservatives.
His resignation follows damning coverage in the Scottish press in recent weeks about disputed expenses.
In a statement, the Edinburgh Pentlands MSP said he was resigning “with a heavy heart”, but he admitted the expense claims saga had been damaging.
He said: “I have been committed to the Conservative party in Scotland for the whole of my adult life, and what it stands for is far more important than me personally.
“I recognise that the recent coverage surrounding my expense claims has been damaging and is a major distraction from our efforts to rebuild support for the party in the country.”
Accordingly, he said, “it is right that I stand down as leader”.
It was revealed this June that Mr McLetchie had claimed expenses of £11,500 over the past five years – more than any other MSP – some of which paid for taxi trips between the Scottish Parliament and the Edinburgh law firm where he worked at the time.
Although he maintained that he carried out parliamentary business from his firm’s offices, he had been forced to pay back £250 claimed in error for a return flight to Bournemouth in 2002 and a trip to Selkirk in 2003.
Scottish Labour leader and first minister Jack McConnell said he was “sure that David McLetchie has made the right choice for his family and for the Scottish parliament”.
“Elected politicians should take great care when spending taxpayers’ money,” he said.
Scottish Lib Dem leader and deputy first minister Nicol Stephen called the resignation “a major blow to the Conservative party”.
He added: “However, if David McLetchie believes that he can no longer defend his position, he has clearly done the right thing.”
Mr McLetchie became leader of the Scottish Conservatives in 1998.
