SNP leadership rivals all demand independence vote from Keir Starmer in order ... trends now
SNP leadership hopeful Kate Forbes tonight said she agreed with 'brave' JK Rowling on transgender rights as she and her rivals faced another live TV grilling.
In what again became a bad-tempered TV debate between her and fellow candidates Humza Yousaf and Ash Regan, Ms Forbes faced close scrutiny of her socially conservative views.
The 32-year-old - a member of the evangelical Free Church of Scotland - almost saw her campaign collapse amid a series of carcrash interviews last month.
She admitted she would have voted against gay marriage and branded pre-marital sex 'wrong'.
But, attempting to continue her recovery from those early woes tonight, Ms Forbes insisted she did not 'disapprove' of unmarried couples and gay married couples.
She also branded conversion therapy 'abhorrent' - although stopped short of saying she would ban the practice entirely.
Both Ms Forbes and Ms Regan described Ms Rowling - the Harry Potter author and a leading critic of the Scottish Government's gender identity reforms - as 'brave' for speaking out on the issue.
Meanwhile, despite another series of bitter exchanges between the three rivals, there was agreement among all of them that they would demand an independence referendum as the price of SNP support for a Labour government at Westminster.
Tonight's Sky News debate was the third televised clash of the SNP leadership campaign and came on the day that voting opened in the contest to elect Nicola Sturgeon's successor.
Kate Forbes branded conversion therapy 'abhorrent' - although stopped short of saying she would ban the practice entirely
Mr Yousaf said he wanted to 'build on that winning formula' put in place by Ms Sturgeon, the outgoing SNP leader
Ash Regan, who is seen as the outsider in the contest, boasted she was the 'only hope' for achieving independence
Tonight's Sky News debate was the third televised clash of the SNP leadership campaign and came on the day that voting opened in the contest to elect Ms Sturgeon's successor.
This evening's debate was again marked by disputes between the rivals over their plans for Scottish independence, while Mr Yousaf faced fresh attacks on his record as Health Secretary and in other ministerial roles.
Ms Forbes, the Finance Secretary, took a swipe at Mr Yousaf - a close ally of
