Watch: Deputy FM accidentally announces leadership bid

It’s a gaffe a day with the SNP. Even with hapless Humza stepping down, the Nats are still slipping up. This time the deputy first minister Shona Robison is in the limelight, after Yousaf’s second-in-command made an on-air blunder just hours after the First Minister announced he would be quitting his job.

In the world’s shortest-lived leadership bid, Robison confidently told Sky News on Monday night that ‘yes’, she would be in the running for the top job. ‘You are in the running?’ presenter Mark Austin replied incredulously. ‘No — sorry,’ Robison corrected herself after a rather awkward pause. ‘No I am definitely not in the running.’ Mr S can only imagine the collective sigh of relief that reverberated around Scotland at her retraction.

While questions have been raised about why the Deputy First Minister isn’t taking over in the interim while the SNP searches for a new leader, Robison’s critics suggest that her job title is more to do with her close friendship with former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon — rather than any leadership credentials.