A SCOTTISH Tory has been accused of failing in his duty as a constituency MP after he knocked back the chance to lobby Theresa May.
Every week, hundreds of MPs put their name into a random draw in a bid to take part in Prime Minister’s Questions.
But yesterday, when Speaker John Bercow offered David Dugid, the MP for Banff and Buchan, the chance to raise an issue with May, he said, “no, it’s alright”.
SNP MP Stewart McDonald tweeted: “Utterly bizarre: The Speaker just called Scottish Tory MP David Duguid to ask the Prime Minister a question and DD declines and says ‘no, it’s alright’. How on earth can it be that he can’t think of anything to ask her.”
Duguid’s constituency SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson later sent the MP a number of questions he could have put to the Tory leader, including several related to Brexit
Stevenson said: “Mr Duguid represents one of the constituencies most at risk from a hard Brexit or no deal and yet he has failed to stand in the House of Commons and ask a question of the Prime Minister.
“To say this is a failure of his duty would be an understatement.
“From concerns about the state of the economy and how the salary threshold of £30,000 will impact the number of migrants to the north-east, funding provisions for digital connectivity and the impact huge tariffs could have on sheep farmers, there is an abundance of issues facing Mr Duguid’s constituents.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Tories hit back at Stevenson claiming: “This is laughable stuff from the SNP.
“Since defeating the SNP in 2017, David has been the most vocal MP in the Commons when it comes to fishing matters. Stewart Stevenson and the SNP are simply deflecting from the fact that they would drag our fishermen back into the EU and keep the industry shackled to the common fisheries policy. People in the north-east will not be fooled.”
Elsewhere at Prime Minister’s Questions, LibDem MP Alistair Carmichael asked the Tory leader to lend her government’s support to help rebuild the fire-hit Fair Isle bird observatory.
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