Maggie Chapman has been selected as the Scottish Greens ' top candidate ahead of next month's European Parliament election.

Chapman, the party's co-convenor, said that she was "delighted and honoured" to have the opportunity to lead the campaign.

The Scottish Greens Operations Committee co-convenor Lorna Slater is second on the list of candidates, followed by Gillian Mackay, Chas Booth, Mags Hall and Allan Faulds.

The European election will be held on May 23, unless the UK agrees a deal to leave the EU before then.

Chapman said: "I'm delighted and honoured to have the opportunity to lead the positive Green campaign for a just and welcoming Scotland at the heart of Europe.

"Scottish Greens have been fighting to keep Scotland where it belongs - at the heart of the EU - in recent years and I'll offer the people of Scotland the chance to choose our positive message of hope, and elect Scotland's first Green MEP.

"The climate crisis is the biggest threat facing humanity and will be my top priority if elected to represent Scotland in the European Parliament. I hope to join the many other fantastic European Greens in this fight.

"The Green MSPs are leading the change at Holyrood, putting the climate emergency at the top of the parliament's agenda, and I look forward to working with them, and with Green colleagues across Europe to deliver a Green New Deal which will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in Scotland and millions across the continent."

Scottish Greens co-convenor Patrick Harvie MSP said: "Maggie has a proven track record as an effective campaigner and I'm delighted she's been elected to top our list of talented candidates. I look forward to supporting her over the coming weeks as we work to elect Scotland's first Green MEP."