The SNP has been accused of "failing" Scots by a leading supporter of Liz Truss after she began a war of words over independence.
Former Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis today defended the favourite to become the next Tory leader after she faced a furious backlash to her recent comments on Nicola Sturgeon.
Truss was called "cack handed" after she used a campaign hustings in the south of England to brand the First Minister an "attention seeker".
Speaking on Tuesday night, Truss said: "I think the best thing to do with Nicola Sturgeon is ignore her. She’s an attention seeker, that’s what she is."
The comments sparked a backlash from Nationalists as well as Conservatives backing Rishi Sunak to replace Boris Johnson.
But Lewis - who declared his support for Truss last week - insisted Truss had "huge credentials" when it came to supporting the Union.
Asked about future relations between Truss and the Scottish Government, he told Sky News: "Actually, keeping the Union together is again an area where Liz Truss has got huge credentials.”
He added: "We had a referendum, now we’re all a few years older, but there’s not been a generational change just yet, and that was always clear, and the SNP were, that that was a once-in-a-generation.
"That decision has been made. What we should all be focused on, including the SNP, is how we improve the lives of people in Scotland.
"They’re failing them on education, I would argue the health service, and other areas of the economy as well.
"What Liz wants to do is make sure everybody across the UK and every part of the UK gets better education opportunities to take part in a better and stronger economy in the future.”
A Truss campaign source last night said she would be prepared to work with Holyrood.
They told the Scottish Daily Mail: "Liz is keen to work with the devolved administrations to deliver on the priorities of the UK.
"However, she has made it clear to the Scottish people that there will be no second referendum - instead, Whitehall and Holyrood will continue to focus on putting more money in their pockets and delivering on their priorities."
SNP MSP Kaukab Stewart said: "It’s not yet clear whether Liz Truss refuses to work with anyone who doesn’t agree with her but her comments so far make it clear that Scotland is in for the hard-Brexit treatment under her Premiership.
"Today, her supporters asked the public to judge her on her record of dealing with the EU - which has been to cave in to the Brexit ultras and threaten to provoke a catastrophic trade dispute in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
"To date, the bookie’s favourite for next PM has been clear she’ll say and do anything the Tory hard-liners want – which will be disastrous for Scotland. Meanwhile, the SNP Scottish Government gets on with delivering for the people who live here."
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