Liz Truss launches stunning attack on Nicola Sturgeon calling her an 'attention seeker'

Liz Truss launched a blistering attack on Nicola Sturgeon - calling her an 'attention seeker' and saying the best way to deal with her is to 'ignore her'.

The Foreign Secretary made the undiplomatic remarks during an election campaign in Exeter, where she and Rishi Sunak were grilled by Conservative Party members.

Meanwhile, Mr Sunak was again accused of disloyalty to Boris Johnson - which he denied, but added: 'The government was on the wrong side of a very serious ethical problem.'

Asked about the Scottish First Minister's call for a second referendum on Scottish independence, Ms Truss replied: "I think the best thing to do with Nicola Sturgeon is to ignore her. She is looking for to attract attention. That's what she is."

In a varied series of questions from party members - who will decide the next prime minister despite making up just 0.3% of the population - the foreign minister was also pressed to make her point view on blood sports and whether she would push for hunting to be allowed again.

Ms Truss spoke of her 'strong support' for blood sports - but appeared to rule out removing the ban on fox hunting.

The Mirror told last month how in 2017 she spoke of wanting to lift the ban, which was introduced by the Labor Party in 2005.

Asked by a Tory activist if she would take the time as Prime Minister to repeal the law, she indicated she would not open the 'Pandora's box' of fox hunting.

Rishi Sunak reiterated that borrowing "tens of billions of pounds" was unethical (

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She told campaigners: 'I'm an MP for Norfolk which is a fantastic place for country sports.

"We have a very strong shooting industry - I'm very, very supportive of country sports."

But she told the Tory member who wanted the hunting ban scrapped: "While I share your love of rural pastimes and am a strong supporter of all the fantastic conservation work being done by the shooting industry, I think I have to be very careful about opening this box."

Meanwhile, Mr Sunak said that if he weren't a politician his dream job would be to run Southampton Football Club, and when asked about his most Embarrassingly, he replied, "I had trouble paying for gas in a car that wasn't mine."

The former chancellor was photographed filling up a car in the forecourt of a Sainsbury's in a publicity shot that backfired.

He was asked how he would support mental health services by a man who said his 16-year-old daughter was told she faced a two-year wait for life-saving support.

"For a child, it's appalling," said the viewer. "We were fortunate enough to be able to go private...since we have not been able to get any support for her or her family."

"We can do more," Sunak admitted, saying he wanted to provide more mental health services in educational settings and protect young people online.