Starmer says May 6 elections chance to 'unite our country' as he denounces SNP's 'divisive' Indyref2 plan

But with a rift in the party having been revealed, after former First Minister Alex Salmond accused senior SNP figures of being part of a conspiracy against him, strongly denied by Nicola Sturgeon, the UK Labour leader said his rivals were “fighting amongst themselves, rather than fighting for the Scottish people”.

The First Minister spent a day being questioned by MSPs on a committee probing her Government’s botched handling of harassment complaints made against her predecessor, again denying strongly any suggestion she was out to “get” him.

However, Sir Keir argued that after the coronavirus crisis, the “last thing” the country needed was “more division”.

He spoke out at a virtual event to launch Labour’s campaign for the May elections, which include votes for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, as well as council and mayoral contests in England.

The Labour leader said: “After everything we have been through the last thing we need now is more division. Yet in Scotland the SNP are fighting amongst themselves, rather than fighting for the Scottish people.”

He hit out the SNP saying their 14 years in power had “seen child poverty rise and educational standards fall”.

He also said: “If you can believe it, Scotland now has the lowest life expectancy in western Europe, and the highest number of drug deaths. That’s a record of shame. And what’s the SNP’s priority? Another divisive referendum.”

With Scottish Labour just having elected Anas Sarwar as its new leader, Sir Keir said they would “focus on what unites Scotland, not what divides us”.

That, he added, would include “a Covid recovery plan to protect our NHS” and a “a catch-up programme to tackle the SNP’s appalling failure on education”.

The speech comes almost a year after Sir Keir succeeded Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader. He stressed how Labour had “changed” and was “reconnecting with the British people in every region and nation of the United Kingdom”.

He insisted: “This is a different Labour Party, under new leadership and we’re making a different offer to the British people.”

Meanwhile, Mr Sarwar told Scots that “the Labour Party I lead will always be on your side”.

He insisted he was “not naïve about the scale of the challenge” facing his party – it is lagging in third place in Scotland behind the SNP and the Conservatives - as he pledged to “work day and night to give the people of Scotland the Labour Party they deserve”.

Mr Sarwar also stressed Scotland could not just “go back to the old arguments” after the coronavirus crisis was over.

“This pandemic has been tough for so many of us, we have been separated from our families and out loved ones, but we have actually come together as a country like never before.

“And I don’t think it is credible for us to come through this collective trauma and go back to the old arguments, arguing with each other while our NHS loses out on funding, arguing with each other while our businesses close down and children miss out on vital education.

“Therefore,” he added, “I want people to know that the Scottish Labour Party is on their side. It is on their side on the issues that matter to them.”

In response, Keith Brown, the depute SNP leader, said: “A vote for Labour is a vote to let Boris Johnson decide Scotland’s future.

“They’ve made it clear that anyone who supports the right of the Scottish people to choose our own future is not welcome in the party.

“By threatening to block Scotland’s democratic right to hold an independence referendum, Labour are demonstrating the same old arrogant and ignorant approach that has alienated their traditional supporters and led to voters abandoning them in droves.”

He added: “This election is about ensuring we don’t allow Boris Johnson to decide Scotland’s future and only by giving both votes for the SNP we will ensure that.”