SNP Cabinet Secretary Michael Russell has been the subject of a Twitter storm in the last few days after a Scottish Conservative candidate in last year's general election branded him a "nasty man and a liar".

Jennifer Ross, who stood for the Tories in the Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency in December, also claimed on March 1 that he had “falsified figures to dupe his voter base”.

Ross was eventually forced to delete her tweet, which was in response to Russell's announcement over the weekend that he was stepping down from his seat in Holyrood – but not before it was picked up by the site's users:

It would appear that Ross has since made her Twitter account private after her comments prompted outrage.

In a separate tweet, she also said that "he won't be missed", before going on to suggest that another independence referendum would not take place "in our lifetime" and referring to "deluded Nationalist vote fodder for the SNP to stay in power".

And in an earlier response to reports suggesting under-25s are too immature to be handed a jail sentence, Ross quoted one such online article while "pointing out" that SNP MP Mhairi Black had been voted in at 21.

The Scottish Conservatives have been approached for comment.