PAUL Masterton believes Boris Johnson “cares about Scotland” as he backed the Conservative leader to confound his critics. 

Mr Masterton, who is hoping to retain his East Renfrewshire seat, says it is untrue to suggest Mr Johnson doesn’t have the interests of people in the country at heart. 

“He has surprised me,” Mr Masterton told the Barrhead News.

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“I was never his biggest fan before I got involved in politics and as you know I voted for just about everyone else in the leadership contest.

“If he has the opportunity with a majority government to get on with his domestic platform, a lot of people will be surprised by some of the things he is planning.

“There’s a caricature that has been built up of him, primarily because of his association with the Leave campaign, but he will confound expectations on that front.”

Mr Masterton notably backed Mr Johnson’s withdrawal agreement from the European Union after a last-minute personal pledge from the Prime Minister. 

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Mr Masterton continued: “Anytime I have spent with him, I have found him to be very serious and very sincere. He gets Scotland and he gets the Union.

“It’s completely untrue that he doesn’t care about Scotland.

“He is very self-aware and he understands his representation in Scotland and that he is coming from a starting place of deep scepticism. It’s not that he doesn’t care about Scotland. He understands and cares deeply about the issues.”