A Dundee Reform UK candidate previously supported independence and claimed the 2014 referendum was “corrupt” to prevent a Yes vote.
Vicky McCann, standing for Nigel Farage’s party in Dundee Central, said at the time she was a “little embarrassed” that Scotland had voted No.
She also shared a link on Facebook to an article which alleges the independence referendum was fraudulent and that orders to rig it were “coming from the top”.
Ms McCann previously supported the SNP, but switched to Reform in protest against Nicola Sturgeon’s policies during the Covid pandemic.
The Reform candidate – who owns a bodybuilding gym in Perth – was vehemently opposed to lockdown restrictions which she warned were “destroying the country”.
It comes as business tycoon Richard Tice, the party chairman, said “I don’t know” when asked on Wednesday how many of his candidates previously supported independence.
Asked about a separate candidate during a visit to Scotland, he said: “I haven’t heard that. I’d be surprised.”
He said some of his party’s election hopefuls were “more bullish than others”, and added that some of them had “been around the block”.
Reform is currently locked in a war for votes with the Tories, which could potentially benefit the SNP on July 4.
The upstart party has seen a major boost in the polls since Mr Farage returned as leader and announced he would stand.
The Conservatives are desperate to portray themselves as the only pro-union option in key marginal seats where they are battling the nationalists.
The party claimed Mr Tice’s comments were “astonishing” and said they would “dismay” voters opposed to independence.
MSP Craig Hoy said: “This candidate was clearly a strident backer of breaking up the United Kingdom and, like a typical nationalist, she blatantly refused to accept the referendum result.
“Only by uniting behind the Scottish Conservatives in key seats can voters ensure they will beat the SNP.”
In a post one month before the 2014 referendum, Ms McCann wrote: “I feel that we owe it to this amazing country and its amazing people to vote Yes.”
The day after the vote, she said: “Well my country has turned out in record numbers to decide its future and on that I am proud.
“Personally I am a little embarrassed that “we couldn’t still rise now and be a nation again”.”
Ms McCann claimed the UK Government had “orchestrated” threats by major UK companies that jobs may be lost in Scotland after a Yes vote.
She added: “For me this was bullying gone too far and turned an unbiased referendum corrupt which made voting Yes a tough choice.”
Switch to Reform
But seven years on, her support for the SNP had ebbed away as she announced her intention to stand for Reform at the 2021 Holyrood vote.
She wrote: “The lockdown and the illogical decisions regarding how it was being handled drove me to despair.
“As an SNP voter, I expected more. I felt that they were destroying the country mentally, physically and economically.
“I looked at various political parties and the refreshing strength of Reform stood out.”
The SNP was contacted for comment.
Last month, we told how Perth and Kinross-shire candidate Helen McDade was called “out of touch” by the Tories over an interview on party policy.
Ms McCann was approached for comment by The Courier.
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