SNP leadership candidate Ash Regan has been ridiculed over her claim that having no STV in the Borders leads to more Tory voters there and less nationalist voters.

It is the latest bonkers assertion from the rank outsider to be the next First Minister, who also piloted schemes such as the independence thermometer and blocking the Stone of Destiny from leaving Scotland.

Speaking at a hustings in Dumfries and Galloway, a member of the audience asked the three candidates about the news channels which are shown on TV in the region.

ITV Borders is the main regional channel for that section of Scotland, with STV being shown elsewhere. And the SNP member claimed that this meant their “media is not focused on Scotland” and the “successes” of the Scottish Government.

It led to Ms Regan saying that this is something she would be looking into if she became First Minister and whether it affects the voting pattern in the region, which has mostly returned Conservative politicians in recent history.

Want to see more SNP fails? – Health Matters