Anas Sarwar has slammed the Scottish Tory party for their "desperate attempt" to try to cling onto second place at the council elections later this week.
The Scottish Labour leader took aim at Douglas Ross ' party over its tactics ahead of the vote on Thursday May 5.
It has been claimed by the Scottish Tories that around 25 candidates standing for Labour support an independent Scotland or want another referendum.
Sarwar told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme the claims are "factually incorrect".
It comes as polls suggest Labour will overtake the Tories to take second place at the election.
On the candidates, Sarwar said: "I think if you're reading the repeated Tory press release, I think that press release is rather desperate.
"I think it's been proved to be factually incorrect and I think it shows that the Tories are trying to cling on to second place rather than trying to have any serious attempt to beat the SNP."
Host Gary Robertson said: "Independent analysis says that 25 candidates have backed holding indyref2."
Sarwar answered: "That's a Tory press release analysis, there's no independent analysis behind that figure.
"All of our candidates are standing on a platform of a reformed and renewed UK, all of our candidates are true to our labour values and principles and all of them are standing in this election to fight for their local community.
"I wouldn't believe the nonsense put out by Tory press HQ which is just a desperate attempt to try and push people to the Conservatives by claiming that the Labour Party no longer supports us being part of the UK.
"The Labour Party unequivocally support Scotland be part of the UK, but we believe the UK needs to change."
Sarwar added: "I think there is nothing wrong with a candidate who had supported independence previously, but now does not support independence and supports the Labour platform.
"I want us to have a diverse group of candidates and we do have a diverse group of candidates standing in this election campaign."
Sarwar urgent to apologise
Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, Miles Briggs hit back at Sarwar's interview saying he must "urgently apologise for misleading Scottish voters".
He said: "Anas Sarwar is trying to paint these 25 pro-independence candidates as some kind of Tory hoax - but these candidates’ views were online for everyone to see.
"Newspapers and outlets have independently fact-checked the claims. Anas Sarwar himself carefully avoided saying it was the ‘wrong figure’– and even effectively admitted that four of the candidates still want independence.
"These cries of ‘fake news’ are desperate and laughable – and Scots will not be fooled by this transparent spin from the Labour leader.
"Anas Sarwar must urgently apologise for misleading Scottish voters, stop dodging questions over his party’s stance on independence, and finally decide whether Labour is really pro-UK or not.”
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