Nicola Sturgeon has said the choice of having Jeremy Hunt or Boris Johnson as the next prime minister is like "asking me if I'd prefer to be run down by a lorry or a bus".
The Scottish First Minister was speaking as part of a Newsnight Special being broadcast from Edinburgh - and made clear she did not endorse either candidate.
During the interview she harshly criticised Mr Johnson, saying: "I find it really difficult to get my head round how any rational person could seriously contemplate putting him into the highest political office in the UK."
But when asked about a preference between the two, Ms Sturgeon said: "With the greatest of respect that's asking me if I'd prefer to be run down by a lorry or a bus.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon: Boris Johnson as PM would be 'disastrous' for Tories
"I think both of them in different ways would not be good for Scotland. I don't think that any Tory prime minister who actually doesn't have a mandate from Scotland is a good thing for Scotland.
She said she does not endorse Jeremy Hunt, but said the prospect of Mr Johnson at Number 10 "gives you a sense of how out of kilter the whole UK political system has become".
She added:"And the fact that the Tories appear very seriously to be contemplating doing that I think gives you a sense of how out of kilter the whole UK political system has become and how out of touch the Tories are with mainstream opinion in Scotland."
At Prime Minister's Questions last week, SNP MP Ian Blackford branded Boris Johnson a "racist" who is "not fit for office".
When asked if she had the same view as her party's leader at Westminster, she said: "I agree with Ian Blackford and he has made..." before interviewer Kirsty Wark said: "He is a racist then."
Ms Sturgeon replied: "I don't know what's in Boris Johnson's head when he makes the overtly racist comments that he makes so I don't know whether he's just doing it for headlines or whether it reflects actual sentiment on his part.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson will 'swat' SNP like midges, claim Scottish MPs
"But if you make overtly racist comments like the comments he made about Muslim women, you can't then throw your hands up in horror when people call you a racist, because that looks as if that's what you are."
The programme was recorded in Edinburgh to mark 20 years since the Scottish Parliament's creation.
Speaking about the milestone, Ms Sturgeon said: "I think the biggest general change has been the sense of self-confidence that came to Scotland as a result of the parliament.
"When you think about it, 20 years in the grand sweep of history is the blink of an eye and yet this parliament in that time has become firmly established as the democratic heart of the country.
"I talk to schoolchildren who don't even remember days before this parliament.
"I think Scotland as a country carries itself a bit more confidently as a result of the establishment of this place."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel