Charity said it rejected depiction because of its political nature

A complaint has been lodged with Scotland’s charity watchdog after Scouts Scotland objected to an SNP political broadcast depicting one of its uniformed members.

The organisation said it had spoken to the party and had also complained to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) concerning the matter.

Rules made by the Scout movement state that uniformed members must not endorse or promote any political party.

The original broadcast took place in February this year in which "Helene" from Kirkhill is portrayed as being among a number of Scots who have changed their position on independence.

She states: "For my children, I feel that an independent Scotland is going to offer them an opportunity to be part of something bigger."

A spokeswoman for Scouts Scotland said the matter had been raised with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

She said: "The Scout Association is not connected with any political body and have rules which state that members when in uniform or when representing the Scouts must not endorse any political party or candidate.

"We have spoken to the SNP, reported the situation to OSCR and the issue has been investigated at a local level through our complaints procedure."

However the SNP responded by saying that its chief scout Bear Grylls appeared in uniform at the Conservative Party conference in 2017.

An SNP spokesman said: "The chief scout appeared on stage at Tory party conference in his full uniform in 2017 so we're somewhat surprised by these comments.

"It is also disappointing to read this media statement today given we engaged with Scouts Scotland several months ago when this broadcast was first on TV."

OSCR has been approached for a response.