A CANDIDATE for Alex Salmond's Alba Party has apologised after calling Nicola Sturgeon "a cow" on social media. 

Jim Walker, an economist, said he has now removed the tweet, which was posted only a few days ago. 

It comes after another Alba candidate, former boxing champion Alex Arthur, apologised for tweets about "Romanian beggars" and not wanting to take the coronavirus vaccine. 

READ MORE: Brexiteer councillor Brian Topping unveiled as latest Alba Party defector from SNP

Mr Salmond has said his campaign is going to be "entirely positive".

In a statement posted on Twitter, Mr Walker said: "I have removed a tweet which was an inappropriate response to what I thought was mudslinging by the First Minister.

"In today's term, I'm pretty mortified.

"I freely apologise to her for the comment and also to my fellow Alba candidates.

"We must follow totally the leadership of Alex Salmond and rise above all negativity as we make the case for our noble cause of independence for our country."

The Herald:

On March 28, he called the First Minister "a cow" in response to a video in which she described Mr Salmond as a "gambler".

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon: SNP ministers who broke coronavirus rules are 'mortified'

Last August, Mr Walker retweeted another user who called broadcaster Kirsty Wark "an auld bitter twisted unionist hag".

The Herald:

He is the chief economist at Aletheia Capital in Hong Kong, but will return to Scotland to contest the election in Central Scotland.