Scotland Office minister Lord Dunlop to 'bow out' of the government

Scotland Office minister Lord Dunlop is to “bow out” of the Government, he announced.

Lord Dunlop said that after the Tories' success in Scotland in the General Election it was a “good time” for him to go.

The Conservatives had their best Scottish Westminster result since 1983, with the party now having 13 MPs from north of the border, and claiming high-profile scalps including former SNP first minister Alex Salmond and SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson.

But the party's success in Scotland stands in stark contrast with the situation in England, where the Tories lost seats leaving Prime Minister Theresa May forced to seek the support of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to continue in Government.

She is now carrying out a cabinet reshuffle - although only has limited room for manoeuvre after the election resulted in a hung parliament.

Lord Dunlop announced his decision on Twitter, stating: “Joined govt 6 years ago to help keep the UK together. 13 Scottish Tory MPs & a 62% Unionist vote share seems a good moment to bow out.”

He put on record his thanks to “all friends & colleagues in government”, particularly Scottish Secretary David Mundell, as well as “those from across political parties with whom I've worked”.

Lord Dunlop was given a peerage by David Cameron in 2015, allowing him to take on the role of Scotland Office minister.

The then-prime minister was forced to take that approach after the Tories won just one seat in Scotland in the 2015 election.

Mr Mundell, who was the sole Scottish Conservative MP from 2005 to 2017, was Scottish Secretary in Mr Cameron's cabinet, and retained the post when Mrs May came to power.

When he took on his role in the Scotland Office Lord Dunlop denied claims from the SNP that he had helped impose the “hated poll tax” north of the border as an adviser to Margaret Thatcher, with the Conservative stating that was a “complete myth”.