A senior Tory minister has been mocked after insisting that Douglas Ross will become the next First Minister of Scotland.
Liz Truss visited Glasgow yesterday to try and persuade business owners of the benefits of Brexit despite Boris Johnson already pushing back against a deal he signed just last year.
The international trade secretary was promoting a Westminster report which claims companies stand to benefit from new agreements signed between the UK and other countries around the world.
But she couldn't say how many jobs would be created north of the Border as a result - despite choosing to launch the report in Scotland.
She insisted Scots stood to benefit from increased export opportunities despite opposition parties warning of the dire impact new trade deals will have on the country's agricultural and fisheries sectors.
In an interview with STV, Truss was pressed on how many jobs would be created in Scotland - with the report claiming 1.2 million would be created in England alone by 2050.
She said: "We've also said there are 500,000 jobs in Scotland which are down to exports and that research was produced by the Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University, and as we see a transition to the green economy, more and more of those 500,000 jobs are going to be in green technologies.
"But I don't have a specific Scotland figure."
An SNP source said: "If there was any doubt Tory governments are contemptuous of Scotland, this car crash interview confirmed it.
"There was one reason and one reason only why Liz Truss held her launch in Scotland - to appeal to Scottish voters - but she failed that basic requirement.
"She is so inept, she could only tell the people of Scotland how many jobs her shiny new plan would create in England. Her negligence is embarrassing.
"She is supposed to be running Britain's post-Brexit trade negotiations but they are a disaster, too. You wouldn't trust Truss to run to the shops for the messages."
Truss also spoke to the Herald yesterday and insisted Douglas Ross would become the next First Minister of Scotland - despite the Tories having lost five Holyrood elections in a row.
Truss called Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross "fantastic". Asked by the newspaper she thought Mr Ross would be the next First Minister of Scotland, she said: "Yes."
Asked if she thought he would win the next Holyrood election, Truss replied: "I do. He's a great guy."
Asked about the concerns of Scottish farmers that a free trade deal will ultimately give Australia unfettered access to the UK food and drink markets, she said: "The EU already have that access. We currently import 320,000 tonnes of beef from the EU.
"What we're talking about in the first year of the Australia deal is 35,000 tonnes, and we consume a million tonnes of beef every year.
"The other point I'd make is that the vast majority of Australian meat goes into those high-value Asia-Pacific markets, because the prices are higher.
"Prices of beef in Korea and Japan are twice what they are in the UK.
"What I want is I want Scottish farmers to have those opportunities in those markets as well."
