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Who is Douglas Ross, the first minister to resign over the Dominic Cummings furore?

Douglas Ross, the Moray MP - PA
Douglas Ross, the Moray MP - PA

Douglas Ross was viewed as future Cabinet Minister and potential Scottish Tory leader, partly explaining Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings' desperation for him to stay.

The son of a farm worker in Moray, he was educated at the Scottish Agricultural College and became a Tory councillor in 2007.

However, he also became a Fifa-accredited assistant referee, running the line in top-flight Scottish football matches and Champions League games featuring the top players in Europe.

The 37-year-old came to prominence when he was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2016 as part of Ruth Davidson's reinvigoration of the party.

Young and articulate, he represented the embodiment of Ms Davidson's efforts to promote "blue collar" Toryism and replace Labour as the party representing Scotland's Unionist working classes.

However, he was not at Holyrood for long, standing in the Moray seat in the following year's snap general election called by Theresa May.

In one of the political scalps of the night, he overturned the 9,065 majority enjoyed by Angus Robertson, then the SNP's Westminster leader, and took the seat.

He was part of a huge Scottish Tory comeback in Scotland that saw its number of MPs surge from one to 13 under Ms Davidson's leadership.

Mr Ross backed Mark Harper in the first round of the Conservative leadership contest to succeed Mrs May but switched to Mr Johnson in the second round.

However, he faced a fierce fight to hold his seat in last December's election in the face of a resurgent SNP and widespread hostility in Scotland to Mr Johnson's premiership.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) alongside Douglas Ross at a Moray distillery - PA
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) alongside Douglas Ross at a Moray distillery - PA

The Prime Minister visited his seat during the contest, with the pair doing a campaign stop at a local distillery, and Mr Ross held on by 513 votes.

Only six of the 13 Tories hung on in Scotland, despite Mr Johnson enjoying a landslide south of the Border, and he was rewarded with a junior ministerial role at the Scotland Office.

He was deemed to have performed well in the role, appearing assured and confident at the dispatch box, often more so than Scottish Secretary Alister Jack.

However, Mr Ross has always had an independent streak and made clear that his priority is representing the area where he grew up.

And when his constituents in Moray made clear their disgust at Dominic Cummings' actions, that was the final straw.

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