Mhairi Black has warned that Kate Forbes could "split" the SNP if she becomes First Minister.
The party's depute leader at Westminster said "I don't know" when asked if Forbes would split the party. She added that she "wouldn't even want to risk that."
The Paisley MP has hit out at Forbes previously. She said that she was "hurt" by Forbes' opinion on gay marriage and accused the leadership candidate of "intolerance".
Black also claimed that the Finance Secretary had “alienated swathes of the population”. She has backed Humza Yousaf to take over from Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister and SNP leader. She married her wife Katie last year.
Black told political podcast The Bunker that what Forbes said had been “damaging”. When she was asked if Forbes becoming SNP leader would split the party, Black said: “Honestly I don’t know, to tell you the truth.
“It’s very much a wait and see what happens. I wouldn’t even want to risk that, that’s why I’m backing Humza. I think he’s the best person to be able to band folk together again.”
Forbes came under criticism in the first week of her campaign after saying she "believes marriage is between a man and a woman". She also said she would have voted against gay marriage if she had been an MSP in 2014.
Yousaf has accused her of leaving SNP members "angry and hurt" by attacking the party's record in government during Tuesday's stormy leadership debate.
Forbes, the Finance Secretary, had questioned whether her Cabinet colleague was fit to replace Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister given "the trains were never on time" when he served as Transport Minister. She also suggested that if she won the SNP leadership race she would not reappoint Yousaf to the health brief.
Her comments sparked fury among many Nationalists who saw it as a direct attack on the Scottish Government.
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