Former Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has claimed she was advised to lie about her views on same-sex marriage during the SNP’s leadership contest in 2023.

The politician, who stepped down at May’s Holyrood election, made the shock allegation at a conference organised by Right-wing think tank the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC).

She also claimed she had been ‘very much in the lead’ and ‘slam dunk’ to become party leader until she stated her views.

Ms Forbes, who was also the Finance Secretary, narrowly lost out to rival Humza Yousaf despite many believing she was the leading candidate to replace Nicola Sturgeon when she quit Bute House.

During the campaign, she admitted she would have voted against same-sex marriage if she had been an MSP when the legislation was passed, although she insisted she would not seek to overturn the law.

Ms Forbes, a member of the Free Church of Scotland, also faced criticism after saying having children outside marriage was ‘wrong’ and for her views on abortion and transgender rights.

Speaking at the London conference last week, Ms Forbes said: ‘All these wonderfully committed team members, who wanted me to win, had great advice – just lie and you’ll be fine.

‘I ended the first 24 hours just so thankful that, in the face of the questions, I hadn’t crumbled.’

Kate Forbes said she was hit by a ‘fervent backlash’ to her views on sex and gender

Ms Forbes said she believed voters respected her honesty despite the backlash.

She added: ‘I answered questions honestly about my faith, and the way it shaped my view of sex and gender, of marriage and family. The backlash was instant and fervent.’

But last night senior party figures rejected her claim that she was told to lie.

One former SNP politician told The Daily Mail: ‘No one would have advised her to lie about her religious views.

‘It’s really a remarkable thing to say. Let’s face it, her religious views were well known, so what was there to lie about?’

The source added: ‘She can’t really claim she was leading the race either – there had been no polling done of the SNP membership at the time of the debates.’

The SNP insider accepted Ms Forbes had been advised to be careful about how she discussed her socially conservative religious beliefs during the televised debates, but insisted nobody had suggested she should lie.

They added: ‘Her religious views perhaps hardened some people against her, but I doubt they changed people’s minds.

‘I would never have said she was a “slam dunk”. The election result was closer than people imagined, because the establishment, the professional politicians, were very much supporting Humza. Whether they were right to do so is another matter.

Kate Forbes with Humza Yousaf in a TV debate in 2023

‘Kate has her own approach and she wears that on her sleeve.

‘Were Humza’s religious views given more latitude in the debates? I think the answer is yes.’ 

During the leadership contest, Mr Yousaf was forced to defend his decision to miss the final vote on Scotland’s equal marriage legislation after it was claimed by former SNP leader Alex Salmond that he had arranged a meeting as cover to avoid voting.

Mr Salmond, who was First Minister when the Bill passed, suggested Mr Yousaf skipped the final vote in 2014 because of ‘religious pressure’.

Mr Yousaf denied the claim, insisting he had a meeting about a death row prisoner in Pakistan and said: ‘I support equal marriage. I supported it then, support it now.’

Ms Forbes was Scotland’s first female Finance Secretary in 2020, taking over from Derek Mackay who resigned after a newspaper revealed he had sent messages to a 16-year-old schoolboy.

She returned to the backbenches after losing the leadership battle, but then returned as Deputy First Minister under John Swinney. However, she stood down as an MSP in May to spend more time with her family.

The SNP was contacted for comment.