SNP preparing for general election, says Ian Blackford

Ian Blackford said it would be "beyond the pale" for Boris Johnson to return as PM

The SNP is preparing for a general election as time "needs to be up" for the Tory government, the party's Westminster leader has said.

Ian Blackford said people in Scotland would be appalled at the idea of Boris Johnson returning as prime minister.

Speculation has grown over whether the former PM would join the race, although Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy declined to comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour said a general election was "inevitable".

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt is so far the only contender to have officially launched a leadership campaign following the resignation of Liz Truss.

Rishi Sunak has become the first potential Tory candidate to secure backing from the 100 MPs needed to enter the race, while Boris Johnson has flown back to the UK following his Caribbean holiday.

Supporters have publicly rallied behind the ex-prime minister.

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However, Ian Blackford said it would be "beyond the pale" for him to return given the Partygate scandal, during which Mr Johnson become the first prime minister to receive a criminal penalty while in office.

Speaking to the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme, the Mr Blackford said: "It is almost beyond belief that the Conservatives would even consider this.

"You really have to question what the Conservatives are thinking if they think it is reasonable and rational to bring this man back into some kind of leadership contest. We don't want Boris Johnson anywhere near power."

Confirming that the SNP are preparing for a general election, he added: "It shouldn't just be down to Tory MPs and Tory members to pick the next prime minister."

Boris Johnson flew back to the UK from holiday as speculation mounts

Tory leadership hopefuls have until 14:00 BST on Monday to find 100 MP backers. If any candidate reaches 158 nominations out of the 357 Tory MPs the race will be reduced to two candidates, as there will not be enough MPs left to support a third candidate.

It will then go to an online ballot of the Conservative party membership, with the result to be announced on Friday.

But if the party's MPs get behind just one candidate, there could be a new prime minister by Monday afternoon.

Scottish Conservative Party chairman Craig Hoy refused to comment on the prospect that Mr Johnson could run in the contest.

Mr Hoy told Good Morning Scotland: "In relation to myself as party chairman, it would be inappropriate for me to engage in speculation about candidates."

However, he said a general election would be a "huge distraction" at a time when stability was needed.

"What we need now is stability for the good of the country, so that the UK government can help people through the difficult times ahead and start to rebuild our public services," he said.

With a new prime minister due to be installed by Friday, Mr Hoy said he hoped "the party unites behind that candidate and we can move forward".

But Scottish Labour's Daniel Johnson said a general election "may be necessitated by events" as he too decried the possible return of Mr Johnson.

He said: "With Boris Johnson, I think we're headed for a full-blown crisis.

"It's not just the Labour Party saying that is unacceptable, plenty of their MPs are saying it would be unacceptable and they would quit."

Speaking about the situation the UK is now in, the Labour MSP added: "The country's paralysed.

"I think we may very well end up in the situation where a general election is inevitable, in fact it is required to cut through the complete chaos that is at the heart of the UK government because of the Conservative Party."