THE BBC has removed a series of political satire cartoons from social media after widespread condemnation.
The cartoons, which were released as promotion for the second series of the BBC Radio Scotland show Noising Up, depicted figures such as Lorna Slater, Douglas Ross and First Minister Humza Yousaf.
However, the content was criticised after some felt a sketch featuring Slater verged on being xenophobic.
The animation, which referred to the Scottish Greens minister as “Limo Lorna” due to her usage of a ministerial car, showed the MSP with a stereotypical Canadian accent rambling on about “maple syrup”.
Minister for Equalities Emma Roddick described it as “unnecessarily nasty” and fellow Green MSP Mark Ruskell asked: “What’s funny about needing a car to do your job?”
Elena Whitham, Slater’s fellow minister in the Scottish Government and also a Canadian, went as far as to call the sketch "p*sh".
Another sketch depicting a conversation between Humza Yousaf and Douglas Ross also garnered criticism, particularly due to the accent Yousaf’s character had been given.
Many viewers noted that the accent Yousaf was given in the show appeared to be Pakistani - despite it not resembling Yousaf’s Glaswegian accent in the slightest.
Some suggested the programme was relying on “racist tropes” in an attempt at humour.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: "We believe satire has a role to play within public discourse and it is important that it has its place within Scotland's political and cultural landscape.
"Animations of four of Scotland's party leaders were created to support the programme with the intent of helping it reach a new and wider audience.
"It became clear over the weekend that the animations were not working as intended and having reflected on the reaction we have made the decision to remove them from social media while we review their use and assess the programme's social media presence."
