ANAS Sarwar has taken a jab at Scotland’s national clinical director, joking that he “thinks he’s a politician".

The Scottish Labour leader made the comments during an on-stage interview with comedian Matt Forde where he revealed Jason Leitch taught him dentistry.

Leitch became a well-known face during the Covid pandemic, often appearing beside Nicola Sturgeon during virus press briefings.

Sarwar joked that his own switch to the world of politics reflected badly on his old teacher.

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Sarwar, like Leitch, started off doing dentistry before entering the political arena.

Speaking about Leitch, Sarwar joked: “He was my professor at university. And it shows you how bad he was at his job that I left dentistry and went into politics.”

He added: “He thinks he’s a politician more than I do.”

Leitch hit back at Sarwar, telling the Daily Record: “He’s using my line, it’s how I introduce him to others.

“I’ve done my very best to avoid the politics of the pandemic for two years, sometimes he makes it tricky.”

The National: National clinical director Jason Leitch became a well-known face during the pandemicNational clinical director Jason Leitch became a well-known face during the pandemic

During the interview, Sarwar also addressed the prospect of a second independence referendum.

“I honestly think if there was a referendum tomorrow they’d [the SNP] lose,” he said.

“And I think they know that. And so all we are doing here is keeping Scotland on pause and repeat, pause and repeat, to hold a certain percentage of the population together so they stay in power.”

Speaking about the First Minister, he continued: “You’ve got to give them credit for the fact that they have made a large part of the population believe that a referendum on independence is just round the corner.

“You’ve got to give them credit for the fact that they have made a large part of the population believe that a referendum on independence is just round the corner.”

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon accuses Anas Sarwar of 'talking down' his home city

Sarwar was then challenged on Scotland voting to stay in the EU while Brexit still went ahead.

He said: “There was a poll recently [which] showed that over 70% of young people aged 16-24 either supported SNP or supported independence. Now, I’m not surprised by that figure.

“If you think about it, in that 16-24 age bracket, a large number of them, if not the majority of them, have not lived a single day of their adult life in a stable United Kingdom - they’ve lived with a Brexit referendum, the fallout of the Brexit referendum, with the chaos of Theresa May, the chaos of Boris Johnson.”

He added: “Every single argument that made Brexit chaotic and the wrong decision for the United Kingdom, multiply it by at least three times - that’s the consequences of leaving the United Kingdom.”