The SNP has branded Liz Truss "cack handed" after the Tory minister launched a scathing assault on Nicola Sturgeon final evening.
The favorite to interchange Boris Johnson as the subsequent chief of the Conservative occasion claimed the First Minister was an "consideration seeker".
Kirsten Oswald, the SNP deputy chief at Westminster, mentioned the feedback proved "the partnership of equals Scotland was promised in 2014 was a sham".
And a former high Downing Avenue official warned Unionists: "You'll be able to't ignore the truth that about half of those that voted in final yr's Scottish Parliament elections supported events who again independence".
Truss was talking at a Tory occasion hustings on Tuesday night when she was requested concerning the Scottish Authorities plan to carry a second referendum on independence subsequent yr.
She mentioned: "I really feel like I’m a baby of the union, that I actually consider we're a household and we’re higher collectively. And I believe the most effective factor to do with Nicola Sturgeon is ignore her. She’s an consideration seeker, that’s what she is."
Oswald, the SNP MP for East Renfrewshire, accused Truss of "firing low cost pictures".
"The seemingly subsequent Prime Minister has made crystal clear the partnership of equals Scotland was promised in 2014 was a sham," she mentioned.
"Firing low cost pictures to seize headlines is straight out of the Trump playbook however reveals as by no means earlier than the contempt Westminster has for the democratic selections individuals in Scotland make and the elected Scottish Authorities.
"We’ve already seen with Brexit that the Tories and Labour wish to ignore Scotland’s authorities and the desires of the Scottish individuals and exert much more management from Westminster.
"“However Truss’s cack-handed feedback are additionally a large blunder on her half as a result of they expose the ugly actuality of Tory attitudes to Scotland and can solely strengthen help for independence."
Gavin Barwell, who served as Downing Avenue chief of workers beneath Theresa Might, mentioned: "You'll be able to't ignore the truth that about half of those that voted in final yr's Scottish Parliament elections supported events who again independence.
"Unionists want a plan to alter a few of their minds, relatively than sticking our fingers in our ears and saying 'we will not hear you'".
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