A former Angus MP has made a return to politics working for the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives.
Kirstene Hair, who was ousted by voters in the county at the 2019 General Election, has secured a job as a senior adviser for Douglas Ross.
The Moray MP succeeded Jackson Carlaw as the new leader of the Scots Tory party in early August.
Carlaw quit the role unexpectedly after just six months in the job to pave the way for a “younger and fresher voice”.
Mr Ross was unchallenged in his bid for the top job with former leader Ruth Davidson standing in for him at First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood.
On Tuesday a Scottish Conservatives party source confirmed Ms Hair had secured a senior adviser role working for Mr Ross.
Ms Hair, who was born and brought up in Brechin, was elected as the MP for Angus in 2017 in an emphatic defeat over SNP veteran Mike Weir.
A former pupil of Brechin High School – where she was head girl – she studied politics at Aberdeen University from 2007 to 2011 and went on to work for DC Thomson as an events manager and executive PA.
She was previously the Conservative candidate for Angus South in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election before being defeated by SNP MSP Graeme Dey.
She was voted out from the Angus constituency in December 2019 after the Nationalist politician Dave Doogan won the seat back for the party by 21,216 votes to her 17,421.
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Ms Hair once wrote a column in The Courier calling on both sides, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to change the tone of the Scottish independence debate.
