SOUTH of Scotland MSP Joan McAlpine has apologised after using social media to highlight controversial claims about David Cameron's keynote speech to the Conservative Party Conference.

The Nationalist MSP, a parliamentary liaison officer to First Minister Alex Salmond, tweeted a link to an article on the political website, Political Scrapbook.

Her tweet carried the article's controversial headline: "Angry Cameron put his dead son in conference speech". In a statement on her website yesterday, Ms McAlpine said: "While the article's headline, which was automatically regenerated on my twitter feed, was stronger than I might have written myself, the content was a robust and well argued piece of journalism.

"However I am aware that political opponents are already using this Twitter row to attack the First Minister who has absolutely nothing to do with this.

"If the headline, which was not mine, caused offence to anyone then I obviously apologise."

In his conference speech, the Prime Minister rejected claims the Conservatives were undermining the NHS, referring to his own family's experience of the health service.

Mr Cameron's disabled son Ivan died in 2009.