John Swinney has defended First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and said he associates himself with her "detest" comments about the Conservatives.
The SNP leader was heavily criticised on Sunday for saying to the BBC: "I detest the Tories and everything they stand for." Deputy First Minister John Swinney was asked about the comments on the BBC's Breakfast programme.
The interim Finance Secretary said: "The First Minister said that she detested Conservative policies and the values of the Conservative Party. And I associate myself with those comments.
"Because I think what's clear is the Conservatives are taking the United Kingdom in a direction which is profoundly damaging for many people in our society."
Swinney also said he had not received a response to a letter he had written to the chancellor calling for urgent talks in the wake of the mini-budget.
He added: "It's not just the letter of October 1. Over the summer, the finance ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also wrote to the then Chancellor, setting the need for urgent action over the summer to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. And there hasn't been a response to that letter either."
He said the UK Government was not taking its engagement with devolved administrations seriously.
Sturgeon is set to close the SNP's conference in Aberdeen with her keynote speech this afternoon. She is expected to tell delegates that the nations of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, will "always be the closest of friends, always be family".
Speaking to journalists on Sunday, the First Minister was asked about any announcements she would make in her speech. She said she will have "more to say" on the cost-of-living crisis "and a host of other things as well".
She also rejected claims there was a lack of policy commitments during the conference. Sturgeon is expected to say: "Scottish independence can reset and renew the whole notion of nations working together for the common good.
"England, Scotland, Wales, the island of Ireland. We will always be the closest of friends. We will always be family. But we can achieve a better relationship, a true partnership of equals, when we win Scotland's independence."
What time is Nicola Sturgeon's speech today?
The First Minister is expected to get to her feet at the SNP's annual conference in Aberdeen at around 3.15pm on Monday, October 10.
Nicola Sturgeon will close the three-day event at the P&J Live arena. The Daily Record will have all the latest on the speech on our website, while the BBC will air a special Politics Live programme on BBC Two.
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