The SNP has branded Liz Truss "cack handed" after the Tory minister launched a scathing attack on Nicola Sturgeon last night.
The favourite to replace Boris Johnson as the next leader of the Conservative party claimed the First Minister was an "attention seeker".
Kirsten Oswald, the SNP deputy leader at Westminster, said the comments proved "the partnership of equals Scotland was promised in 2014 was a sham".
And a former top Downing Street official warned Unionists: "You can't ignore the fact that about half of those who voted in last year's Scottish Parliament elections supported parties who back independence".
Truss was speaking at a Tory party hustings on Tuesday evening when she was asked about the Scottish Government plan to hold a second referendum on independence next year.
She said: "I feel like I’m a child of the union, that I really believe we are a family and we’re better together. And I think the best thing to do with Nicola Sturgeon is ignore her. She’s an attention seeker, that’s what she is."
Oswald, the SNP MP for East Renfrewshire, accused Truss of "firing cheap shots".
"The likely next Prime Minister has made crystal clear the partnership of equals Scotland was promised in 2014 was a sham," she said.
"Firing cheap shots to grab headlines is straight out of the Trump playbook but reveals as never before the contempt Westminster has for the democratic choices people in Scotland make and the elected Scottish Government.
"We’ve already seen with Brexit that the Tories and Labour want to ignore Scotland’s government and the wishes of the Scottish people and exert even more control from Westminster.
"But Truss’s cack-handed comments are also a massive blunder on her part because they expose the ugly reality of Tory attitudes to Scotland and will only strengthen support for independence."
Gavin Barwell, who served as Downing Street chief of staff under Theresa May, said: "You can't ignore the fact that about half of those who voted in last year's Scottish Parliament elections supported parties who back independence.
"Unionists need a plan to change some of their minds, rather than sticking our fingers in our ears and saying 'we can't hear you'".
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