Kate Forbes has insisted she will work Sundays if she succeeds Nicola Sturgeon as the next First Minister.
The Finance Secretary is one of three people vying to become the new SNP leader with the winner of a gruelling contest due to be announced on March 27.
Forbes, a member of the Free Church of Scotland, has faced repeated questions on how her devout faith impacts on her politics.
The Highland MSP lost the support of several of her supporters after she said she would not have voted for equal marriage if she had been a Holyrood politician at the time.
But she used an interview today to insist she would be "present" as First Minister on Sundays. "If you think of a nurse, people don't stop getting ill on a Sunday," she told the Herald.
"So nurses in my family are working on Sundays. Doctors are working on Sundays and emergency responders are working on Sundays. I recognise that being First Minister is 24/7 [although] I don't think we should begrudge our politicians some time to be balanced and to recharge.
"Emergencies happen on Sunday, and I'm available - I'm not just available, I'll be on the front foot when it comes to these issues. I had to do this during Covid. There were decisions that had to be made on a Sunday during Covid, such as procuring PPE. It's a 24/7 job."
Forbes also told the newspaper she would not run for the SNP leadership again if she lost out this time.
“I think this, for me, is probably the one opportunity. We need change in this election, and if we don't get change then I think it's going to be really challenging for the party in the future. I'll continue to support the party, but I think it unlikely that I would stand again.”
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