A Perthshire politician has welcomed an apology from pupils after becoming embroiled in a bitter online row.
Pete Wishart was targeted by several students of Strathallan School following a lively debate on the future of Scotland.
The MP for Perth received a number of abusive messages when he took to his Twitter page to criticise the lack of balance at the event, which was recorded for BBC Radio Scotland.
Since then, the posts from pupils have been deleted and they have been forced to apologise to the SNP politician.
Mr Wishart said: “I am grateful for Strathallan’s apology and I hope that the referendum debate can now be conducted without resorting to the type of abuse I received on Friday night.”
A statement posted on Strathallan School’s website described students’ comments as “inappropriate” but said just a “small number” were involved.
The message continued: “Clearly, they were upset by the attacks made upon them but this does not excuse the nature of some of the responses.”
The school wrote: “Pupils at Strathallan are encouraged to think about all issues and to engage in debate on them.They are concerned, as all young people will be, about a number of issues in Scotland today.
“The discussions engendered a keen sense of engagement with the political process, reflecting the independent thinking which we promote.”
“A number went into the debate broadly in favour of independence but changed their minds during it.The issue is the basis of the motion for the forthcoming senior debating final, so the debate will continue.”
During the course of the online row, which raged on over the weekend, a number of Mr Wishart’s followers left posts on Twitter and Facebook, hitting out at the school and its pupils.
One user said: “Nasty, snobbish behaviour of Strathallan School’s pupils to Pete Wishart. Tonight is the best possible advert for abolishing private schools.”
Meanwhile, another wrote: “If only there was a brainwashed political youth movement in recent European history with which to compare them.”
Strathallan was also dubbed a “mini House of Lords”, while its pupils were called “leftie whiners” and “brats”.
This is not the first time the independent school, which boasts golfing legend Colin Montgomerie as a former pupil, has hit the headlines.
In 2005, it was named as one of 50 private schools in the UK that was part of a price-fixing cartel aimed at driving up fees.