THE RACE to become the SNP’s next deputy leader has exploded into life as insiders revealed that as many as six candidates will battle to become Nicola Sturgeon’s number two.

Alyn Smith, the MEP who has risen to prominence after making a memorable speech in the European Parliament following last month's Brexit vote, has become the third candidate to enter the running.

He joins frontrunner Angus Robertson, the SNP’s leader at Westminster and Chris McEleny, an ambitious councillor from Inverclyde who became the first to declare.

Party sources revealed that the field is set to become more crowded, predicting that as many as six will fight the contest to replace Stuart Hosie, the MP who is standing down as deputy in disgrace after details of an affair with a Westminster journalist emerged in the press.

Insiders say that a woman is likely to enter the contest imminently, with the party chiefs likely to be embarrassed by an all-male fight. Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, a close ally of former leader Alex Salmond, is said to be strongly considering running.

Tommy Sheppard, the comedy club boss and former Labour councillor has been spoken of as another potential contender, while a candidate from the SNP's Holyrood benches may also come forward.

Mr Smith, an MEP for more than a decade, has seen his profile and popularity within the party rocket following the EU referendum, which saw voters in Scotland choose convincingly to remain but the UK-wide result in favour of leaving, opening the door to a new independence referendum. He earned headlines across the world when he issued a passionate plea for fellow MEPs not to "let Scotland down".

He acknowledged that mistakes had been made on the EU issue ahead of the 2014 referendum, when Alex Salmond repeatedly insisted Scotland would automatically retain its EU status, and reiterated his support for a second independence vote.

He said: "If we are serious about retaining all the benefits of the EU, then independence is the clearest way to do it and we did all the groundwork in 2014."

Reflecting on the 2014 referendum, he added: "The biggest lesson, other than the position of currency, is that we didn't prepare the EU case properly. We boxed ourselves into a position where we used words like 'automatic' over a process that is anything but automatic.

"We spoke to London embassies rather than capitals, and to London journalists rather than the European ones back home. We need to remedy that. We cannot allow our position to be articulated through the London prism. I can play that role with credibility, but being deputy will make that a much stronger position. It will demonstrate to the party, Scotland and the wider world that we are serious about this."

Candidates have until early August to put themselves forward, with the new deputy leader to be selected at the SNP's autumn conference following a members' vote. Mr Hosie defeated just two other candidates, Keith Brown and Angela Constance, when he won the role only 20 months ago. After his affair became public he split from MSP wife Shona Robison, a close friend and political ally to the First Minister.

Mr McEleny, leader of the SNP group on Inverclyde Council, was the sole declared contender for the deputy leadership for more than a month, before Mr Robertson, who has won plaudits for his performances at Westminster, formally entered the race.

The councillor has insisted he remains determined to take on more established faces, saying he has almost the necessary support - endorsements from 100 members from at least 20 different branches - to guarantee a place on the ballot. He said: "I hope to see a lot more people coming forward to further enhance the debate."