A war of words has broken out a First Minister Nicola Sturgeon battles to unite her party at loggerheads over both the lack of real progress in the Scottish independence campaign and her failure on the domestic record. A recent SNP group meeting turned nasty when MPs dropped the C-word, with a source revealing “It was both shouty and sweary”.

Questions have also been raised over the future of Ms Sturgeon’s job as cracks begin to emerge in the party over the best route to take to achieve independence from the UK.

Critics warned Ms Sturgeon could “fall on her sword” as early as summer after the upcoming trial of Alex Salmond and growing criticism over her desperate bid for Scottish independence.

A source told how the Scottish leader had been close to quitting. 

They told the New Statesman: “She has been upset by these silly rumours about her personal life, and they have impacted on her wider family.

“It’s fair to say that for a while she was thinking about whether she could be bothered carrying on anymore.

“But she’s come through that now and wants to stick it out for the next five years.”

Ms Sturgeon’s ally added: “No SNP leader has ever been more important than she is right now.”

Split were also highlighted in the party when MP Joanna Cherry fuelled speculation she is moving to succeed Ms Sturgeon by throwing her hat in the ring to stand in Ruth Davidson’s Edinburgh Central seat in the next Holyrood election next spring against former deputy leader Angus Robertson.

But in a recent interview with The Herald, Ms Cherry sought to defend her position, saying: “I don’t want to replace Nicola.

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“I want to get to know her better.”

Meanwhile, tensions also reached boiling point when SNP MP Mhairi Black sparked fury after she defended a primary school visit by a drag queen who shares sexualised content on social media.

Ms Black joined the performer – known as FlowJob – who read to children as young as four at Glencoats Primary School, Paisley.

But furious parents raised concerns after it emerged the adult entertainer has uploaded sexually explicit photos on to her Twitter page including simulating a lewd act with a sex toy and oral sex.

The news comes after a shock study found Ms Sturgeon’s claim she has “a renewed, refreshed and strengthened mandate” for another independence vote was “warped”.

The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) said the SNP’s performance “delivered one of the most disproportionate results” in the UK and Scottish voters were being “cheated”.

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