INDEPENDENCE PLAN NOW 'DEVOID OF CREDIBILITY'

Neil calls on Yousaf to change tack

- CHRIS McCALL

HUMZA Yousaf's plan to achieve Scottish independence is "devoid of credibility" following the SNP's by-election rout, a senior Nationalist has warned.

Former Scottish Government minister Alex Neil said his party had "lost touch in recent times".

He called on the First Minister to drop a motion up for debate at the SNP conference in Aberdeen which sets out how next year's general election could be a stepping stone to independence.

Yousaf and the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn have both endorsed a plan to begin negotiations on ending the Union if their party wins the most seats in Scotland.