SNP candidate Mhairi Black has rubbished claims about the party being obsessed with independence.

The 22-year-old will be fighting to retain her Westminster seat in Paisley and Renfrewshire South, having won more votes than all of the opposition groups combined in 2015.

Miss Black said it is the Tories who are obsessed with independence and must be stopped from “running rampant.”

She said: “The SNP will always believe in independence but this is a Westminster election because we are not independent, so the focus is on making sure Scotland is not forgotten.

“There is potential for a Tory government to run rampant in this crucial period. You only have to look at their policies on pensions and things like foxhunting to realise we need to be a strong opposition.

“Parties saying we are obsessed with independence is absolute drivel. It was great when the First Minister pointed out the Tory literature mentioning independence 153 times. It is ludicrous for them to say we are obsessed when they’re the ones who are.”

In 2015, Miss Black snatched the seat from Labour’s Douglas Alexander, taking 50.9 per cent of the vote.

She added: “There is work we’ve started that isn’t finished, like working to improve broadband connections and putting pressure on Scottish Water to sort out the Kilbarchan sewage issues.”