SNP leadership candidates must ‘call out’ attacks on media, say Scottish Tories

The SNP leadership candidates have been urged to “call out” attacks on journalists, after seeming to endorse the idea that the media were anti-SNP.

Scottish Conservative chair Craig Hoy has written to Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan, expressing concern they have “encouraged” this sentiment.

Apparent media bias has been raised by party members at several of the hustings events so far.

Hoy accused the candidates of “pandering to the worst excesses of anti-media paranoia from within your own party”.

He added: “In future hustings, I hope you explicitly call out any attacks on media and/or journalists and dismiss any idea that your party is somehow the victim of a media stitch-up.

“I would encourage you to point out to members that scrutiny from journalists is part and parcel of being in government.”

At the first hustings event last week, Yousaf said one question about tackling “daily misinformation” from journalists an “excellent opening question”.

Meanwhile, upon being questioned about her views, Forbes suggested these were still live issues because “journalists want to keep going back to those problems”.

And Regan yesterday suggested people on the Scottish Borders were more likely to vote Conservative because they receive ITV Borders instead of STV.