Nicola Sturgeon said Boris Johnson “does not deserve” to be Prime Minister as she visited Fife on the campaign trail.

The First Minister pointed to his actions, such as the “illegal” proroguing of parliament, as evidence why he should not be given the chance to return to Downing Street.

Her visit yesterday included a stop at a hairdressing business to hear how it is providing free cuts to children from low-income households – where she gave SNP candidate Stephen Gethins a trim.

Speaking ahead of the visit she said: “Boris Johnson simply doesn’t deserve the chance to return to Downing Street as Prime Minister.

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“Everything he has done in his short time in the job – including his illegal shutting down of parliament – shows that.

“He is taking the Tories further and further to the right, pandering to the worst excesses of Nigel Farage and the Brexit Party.

“And his refusal to accept responsibility for his language and his actions – demonstrated so strongly at the leaders’ Question Time – demonstrates how unfit he is for office.”

lIan Blackford said he believes Jeremy Corbyn will allow a second independence referendum next year if Labour needs SNP support to form a government.

The SNP’s Westminster leader said there would be a “number of things” which the party would seek if in negotiations with Labour following the election.

In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he added: “If Jeremy’s accepted the principle of the referendum on Scottish independence he will have to recognise that the mandate is already there. He will give way on this, he will recognise it’s the right thing to do.

“We’re certainly not going to get into discussions on other matters until we’ve resolved that matter. If he wants to be the Prime Minister of a minority administration then he’s going to have some give and take, and acceding to the democratic right of Scotland to have a referendum isn’t really a big ask.

“I think it’s a reasonable thing to do, it’s a mandate that we won in 2016, it’s right that we are given that opportunity to have our say in Scotland about our future. I don’t think Jeremy Corbyn’s going to find that a difficult thing to do.”

On what level of co-operation the SNP would be willing to give, he said: “We’ll get around the table and talk. We’ve always said that we wouldn’t enter into a coalition with Labour, that is off the table, but we’re happy to consider things on a case-by-case scenario.”

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Jeremy Corbyn has defended his decision to remain “neutral” in a second EU referendum, saying it is a sign of “strength and maturity”.

The Labour leader was criticised for disclosing in Friday’s election debate that he would not take sides in the proposed public vote on a new Brexit deal which the party intends to negotiate with Brussels.

The Tories accused Corbyn of “deciding to be indecisive” on the biggest issue facing the country.

However on an election campaign stop in Sheffield, Corbyn insisted he is offering a “sensible way forward” which can finally bring the country together.

He said: “I think being an honest broker and listening to everyone is actually a sign of strength and a sign of maturity.

“My role as the Labour prime minister would be to ensure that is carried out in a fair way, that the offers put are fair, and that I will carry out the result of that referendum.

“I think this is actually a sensible way forward that actually can bring people together.”

The Scottish Greens will unveil plans to phase in free public transport for all as part of its election pitch.

The plans, to be outlined in its manifesto launch tomorrow, will begin with free bus travel for under 21s.

The party has already proposed taking public transport companies into public ownership under its Scottish Green New Deal.

It says the free transport could be funded through measures such as doubling first-year vehicle excise duty on more polluting vehicles, reversing the fuel duty freeze and ending support for domestic aviation, other than “lifeline services”.

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “State-run train, bus and ferry companies could provide a network to get Scotland moving.

“Imagine how liberating it would be, to hop on and off our buses, trains and ferries without the need for fares.

“Free public transport isn’t far-fetched. It is happening in cities across Europe and will be in place in the whole of Luxembourg by the summer. What it requires, though, is political bravery.”