Nicola Sturgeon slammed Liz Truss’s government plans, accusing her of failing to “focus on the real priorities of the country.”
Before criticising the Tory leadership frontrunner’s policies, the Scottish First Minister promised to give whoever becomes Prime Minister “a chance to prove themselves.”
However, she said, “if she governs as she campaigned for the summer, she will be a disaster not just for Scotland, but for the entire UK.”
Ms Sturgeon and Ms Truss already have a strained relationship, with the South West Norfolk MP accusing the First Minister of being an “attention seeker” who should be “best ignored” during the leadership election hustings in July.
When they last met in person, the Scottish leader claimed the Cabinet minister was more interested in “how to get into Vogue” than discussing policy issues.
Ms Sturgeon accused Ms Truss of spending the last two months campaigning on the “niche priorities of 100,000 Conservative Party members.”
According to the SNP leader: “The obsessions of a tiny, tiny number of Conservative Party members are not the right priorities for the country.
“So I think it won’t take very long to see whether she is going to govern as a Prime Minister with a focus on the real priorities of the country or not.
However, she said she would “do my best” to work with Ms Truss if she were to take over at No. 10, claiming the ball was in her court.
“It’s up to her whether or not she wants to work with me,” she added.