JAMES May has taken a swipe at Nicola Sturgeon over her stance on Scottish independence.

The Grand Tour presenter, formerly of Top Gear, branded the First Minister “stroppy”, but said she’s a better communicator than Boris Johnson.

He also complained about Scottish weather forecasts being broadcast on BBC News.

May, along with co-hosts Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, visited Scotland for the show’s latest road trip.

Ahead of the episode being released on Amazon, May had a pop at the First Minister, the Daily Record reported.

He said: “I would have liked to meet Nicola Sturgeon because I find her interesting and a bit stroppy.

“I would like to ask her some questions about Scottish independence and why there is too much about Scottish weather on the BBC news in London but, weirdly, she wasn’t interested in coming to see three old blokes in their s**t cars.”

The presenter then compared her to the Tory Prime Minister.

The National: Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a media briefing in Downing Street, London

READ MORE: These are Jeremy Clarkson's five worst comments about Scotland

He added: “In leadership, she’s certainly the equal of Boris. She’s tough and she’s good at speaking and she is believable, even though I find a lot of what she says a bit bonkers.

“But she’s closer to Angela Merkel than Boris with his ‘ah ahs’. You don’t get many ‘ahs’ from Sturgeon– she should be on TV.”

It’s not the first time that a Grand Tour host has criticised the First Minister.

In March, Clarkson claimed that Sturgeon had the "memory of a goldfish" during Holyrood’s investigation into the botched handling of harassment complaints against Alex Salmond.

May, Clarkson and Hammond race each other from Edinburgh to the Outer Hebrides in the new episode.