Angry protesters attempted to push past police and threw eggs at Tory guests arriving in Perth to hear Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak make their pitch to become the next prime minister.
Pro-independence activists greeted Conservative members with a chorus of boos outside the city’s concert hall.
Demonstrators blasted The Imperial March from Star Wars on a loudspeaker and savaged the two candidates hoping to lead the UK Government.
One small group of activists broke through a barrier intended to hold protesters back and tried to force their way into the venue.
Police were forced to stop them from barging their way into the concert hall as Tory members watched from inside just feet away.
Campaigners urged the crowd to do all they can to ensure the Tories are removed from power at the next election.
Ex-chancellor Mr Sunak and foreign secretary Ms Truss have both been travelling in Scotland today in a last minute pitch to their membership.
Ms Truss visited a whisky distillery in Moray, while Mr Sunak was in Aberdeenshire.
But anti-Tory protesters claimed the debate in the hall won’t matter since the vast majority of the country has no say in who succeeds Boris Johnson.
Local Yes activist Mary Baxter said: “They’re irrelevant to Scotland. They don’t understand Scotland.”
Campaigners from Dundee University and College Union were also out in force and criticised both candidates.
Earlier today, Perth MP Pete Wishart said: “This is the third leader we’ll have imposed on us from the Conservative Party without any sort of election.
“The question they’ve got to answer is why they’re prepared to come here and tell us Scotland’s democracy doesn’t matter.”
David Linden, an SNP MP, slammed “morons” accused of “spitting” at pensioners.
On social media, he wrote: “These morons don’t speak for me or my party. We condemn their behaviour utterly and without equivocation. If anyone of them is found to be an SNP member, then they should be chucked out immediately.”
He was responding to Tory MP Andrew Bowie, who introduced Mr Sunak’s campaign on stage.
These morons don’t speak for me or my party. We condemn their behaviour utterly and without equivocation. If anyone of them is found to be an @theSNP member, then they should be chucked out immediately.
It’s as simple as that. https://t.co/Pj26msmBer
— David Linden MP (@DavidLinden) August 16, 2022
Candidate promises
Before the debate, both candidates set out their plans for the country and the campaign for another independence referendum.
Rishi Sunak has said he would “take on” Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon rather than ignore her, if he becomes the next prime minister.
Asked in an interview with the BBC if he would ignore the SNP leader, Mr Sunak said: “No, I don’t want to ignore Nicola Sturgeon, I want to take her on and beat her.
“I think we can make a very strong case for what the UK Government does to help people in Scotland and as chancellor I started that.”
Mr Sunak’s comments come after his rival Liz Truss claimed she would ignore Ms Sturgeon if she wins the Tory leadership contest, and branded the First Minister an “attention seeker”.
