Tory VJ Day snub speaks volumes – Angus Robertson

New Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross MP chose to work as an assistant referee at a football match, rather than commemorate VJ Day and the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, writes Angus Robertson.

Douglas Ross runs the line during Saturday's Scottish Premiership match between Kilmarnock and St Johnstone (Picture: Alan Harvey/SNS Group)

Victory against Japan Day is the historic anniversary just celebrated here in Scotland and across all the Allied nations that fought against militarist aggression in the Far East. The 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War marked last Saturday was all the more poignant as it was the last to be witnessed by many of the ageing veterans.

There were 71,000 British and Commonwealth casualties of the war against Japan, which included more than 12,000 prisoners of war who endured horrific mistreatment. Japan suffered 2.5 million military and civilian casualties including the populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki wiped out by nuclear explosions to bring the war to an end.

As a child growing up in Stockbridge I remember our elderly neighbour Fred who served against the Japanese. Like many of his generation he did not speak much about his experiences, but they clearly weighed on him as they did for many others scarred by the brutality.

In recent days the country has marked the sacrifices of all who served in the Far East. An online commemoration service and concert was hosted by Legion Scotland with the participation of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. A two-minute silence was observed at Scottish Government headquarters by veterans, representatives of the Armed Forces and Scottish Veterans Minister Graeme Dey. Wreaths were laid at the Burma Memorial at Lauriston Castle in Edinburgh to commemorate the 496 Royal Scots who were killed or died as prisoners of war.

Among the veterans who took part in weekend commemorations was 96-year-old Whitson Johnson from Portobello. 75 years ago the RAF serviceman decoded the radio message at his base announcing the end of the war. “The fighting stopped for everyone,” he recalled. “Not just the British and Americans, but it also stopped for the Japanese as well. All the killing stopped and it started to get back to normal. It took a year for me to get home.”

The weekend anniversary was also marked across the country with local commemorations including community representatives, veterans organisations and elected parliamentarians with one glaring exception. New Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross thought it was more important to run the touchline at premiership football match between Kilmarnock and St Johnstone. Having been caught out (again) for missing an important constituency engagement, he said he was sorry (again). He has form.

When a local councillor he regularly missed important community events, including a cross-party march to save a local school in his ward. When he became an elected MSP, he missed important committees and votes at Holyrood. As an MP he has continued to regularly prioritise football over his parliamentary and constituency responsibilities. Despite being less than two weeks in the job as new Tory leader Douglas Ross thought it was more important to earn £445 as a linesman and snub the VJ Day commemorations. This is not an isolated example of his part-time attitude as a councillor, MSP, MP and now party leader.

With polls showing their poor standing, the Tories have all but given up on their ambitions to lead Scotland after the next Scottish Parliamentary elections. The fact that their new leader will continue to put refereeing ahead of campaigning shows how little confidence he has. In the meantime, veterans of all political persuasions now know what priorities the new Tory leader has for those who put their lives on the line for our freedom.

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