RICHARD Leonard has made clear that he would support England in a football or rugby match against Scotland.
Scottish Labour's new leader was born and raised in North Yorkshire but has spent most of his life living and working in Scotland after studying at the University of Stirling.
Asked by broadcaster Adrian Chiles which team he would support, Mr Leonard replied: "If it's England versus Scotland, I do support England. Every other game I will support either Scotland or England."
The 54-year-old politician insisted he was not going to lie for the sake of political convenience.
"I'm not going to try and make up something which would be inaccurate. That's the honest truth and my wife, who is Scottish, she would bear that out. We watch football together," he said.
During the election campaign, Mr Leonard defended his English, private-school past, saying no one should be criticised for where they were born or where they went to school.
He also told BBC Radio 5 Live he didn’t have a favourite reality TV show, saying "my life’s too short”, after his predecessor Kezia Dugdale joined the ITV show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
Mr Leonard, who beat his colleague and fellow MSP Anas Sarwar in the race to succeed Ms Dugdale, said he had never seen the TV reality show adding: "I do think there are opportunities when politicians need to reach out beyond the immediate political circle but I am not persuaded that this is necessarily a case in point."
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