CONSERVATIVE MSP for South Scotland Michelle Ballantyne, has written just one letter to the UK Government since she took up her post as party spokeswoman for social security in May, it has emerged.

The solitary letter to then Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Esther McVey, dated June 6, was released to the SNP under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation.

Aside from one casework enquiry, the letter in which she wrote looking to “ensure we present a unified front to the Scottish Government” was her sole correspondence on the issue of welfare.

Ballantyne faced calls for her resignation in October when she told Holyrood that people on benefits cannot have “as many children as they like” during a debate on inequality.

SNP spokesperson: “No matter how bad the Tory welfare system gets, or how much of a disaster Universal Credit turns out to be, Michelle Ballantyne’s only interest is in point-scoring against the SNP.

“This revelation puts Michelle Ballantyne’s now infamous diatribe against the right of people to have families in a new light.

“It’s no wonder the Scottish Tories are some of the few people left in the country defending May’s proposed Brexit deal.”