The National:

FOR any viewer who was paying attention to Question Time, it was pretty obvious Kate Forbes got the better of Douglas Ross.

But it seems the Scottish Tories are banking on no-one paying close attention.

They’ve released a video of the party chief’s exchange with the Scottish Finance Secretary – with all of her comments redacted.

The somewhat one-sided exchange suggests that Ross had Forbes on the ropes over government support for businesses during the pandemic.

Eagle-eyed onlookers couldn’t help but notice that the actual exchange was not nearly as flattering for the Scottish Tory leader.

He had suggested Holyrood ministers are withholding some of the £700 million in funding passed on by Westminster.

That forced Forbes to point out: “You do appreciate that’s for health? It’s not just for business support.”

Ross insisted that the cash was for the £3000 grants the UK Government is giving to businesses in England – demanding: “Give them that £700m you’ve got from the Chancellor.”

READ MORE: Douglas Ross humiliated as Kate Forbes corrects his funding claim on Question Time

In a clip deemed expendable by the Scottish Tories, the Finance Secretary explained: “The two points I would make is one – small grants of £1500 is no replacement for the furlough scheme. That’s point number one. Point number two is that £700m, worth asking the Chancellor, that does not just cover business support.

“That’s for health, that’s for transport, and a whole host of other things. Just for clarity. The third point is the business support we’ve put in place is more generous than the UK Government support.”

She added: “In the rest of the UK if you are obliged by law to close you’ll get a grant. But all the businesses in the supply chain won’t get funding and other businesses that are not directly impacted won’t get funding.

“In Scotland we’ve required funding for the businesses required by law but also the businesses in the supply chain – businesses that might see reduced trading but aren’t required to close by law.

“And I think that’s the breadth of support that we need to see. But let’s not kid ourselves – £1500 of grant, as important as it is, is no replacement for the furlough scheme.”

Forbes’s party didn’t resort to dirty tricks, opting to show the full exchange.

It’s yet another own goal from the Scottish Tories.

If you’re having to cut out the opposition’s comments completely, it’s probably a sign you’re losing the argument.