IAN Blackford has renewed calls for Scottish independence after Matt Hancock resigned as Health Secretary.

The SNP's Westminster leader said Scotland should "say goodbye to the chaos and failure of UK leadership".

He tweeted: “Massive failure of leadership by @BorisJohnson Hancock should have been sacked. A fish rots from its head. So does this UK Government.

“In Scotland of course we will face a choice on our future. We can say goodbye to the chaos and failure of UK leadership and take a step forward.”

READ MORE: Matt Hancock resigns as Health Secretary after kissing scandal

Blackford expanded on his comment in a statement, saying: "This entire episode has once again shone a light on the sleaze and cronyism at the heart of this Tory government – and it is important to say that this resignation must not be seen as the end of the matter.

"Matt Hancock's resignation must at long last be followed by a full independent public inquiry into Tory cronyism – with answers needed over the Tory government's handling of lucrative Covid contracts handed out to party donors and contacts, and the hiring of friends and those close to them to influential positions among the long list of Tory scandals.

"The Westminster system is rotten to the core and broken beyond repair. Instead of putting up with it, Scotland can shake off Westminster and build a fairer and more democratic future as an independent country."

Images and video showed Hancock in an embrace with aide Gina Coladangelo last month, and the Health Secretary was facing increasing pressure to quit over the breaking of social-distancing rules.

Hancock wrote to Boris Johnson on Saturday and said: “The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading up out of this crisis.”

WATCH: Matt Hancock explains his decision to resign over kissing scandal

Earlier, the SNP warned Johnson “risks jeopardising vital public health measures” by retaining Hancock as Health Secretary.

The party’s Westminster deputy leader Kirsten Oswald said there are “very serious questions” for Hancock and the incident cannot “simply be brushed under the carpet”.

Shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray also earlier joined those pushing for Hancock to be go, saying if Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross “had any backbone” he join the calls.

Throughout the row Ross’s Scottish Tories have kept tight-lipped.

A snap poll by Savanta ComRes, released hours after photographs of the pair kissing in Hancock’s ministerial office surfaced, found 58% of UK adults feel he should resign, compared to 25% who say he should not.