Reaction to the speech John Swinney gave at the SNP's campaign launch is coming in - starting with Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross.

He describes it as "a desperate attempt" to relaunch the SNP's campaign in the wake of the Michael Matheson scandal.

Police are currently assessing a new complaint over SNP MSP Michael Matheson’s iPad data roaming bill. The former health secretary resigned after admitting the £11,000 charge racked up on an official device during a family holiday to Morocco was caused by his sons using it as a hotspot to stream a football match.

"Predictably, he used it to double down on the SNP’s independence obsession, instead of focusing on the people’s real priorities - fixing our ailing public services and growing the economy," Ross says of the speech.

“As he showed in the Matheson scandal, John Swinney will always put party before country".

Image source, PA Media

A little earlier, we heard from Scotland's first minister at the SNP's campaign launch in Glasgow.

Here's the main thrust of what John Swinney had to say:

• He accused Labour of giving "an awfully good impression" of the Conservatives, using healthcare as an example - suggesting Labour are creeping towards using the private sector in the NHS
• Scottish independence would mean that more decisions could be made for people in Scotland, he told SNP supporters to huge applause, ending "destructive" choices made in Westminster
• Swinney said he'd looked looked closely at other countries in Europe, such as Denmark, Norway and Ireland, as a "model of what is possible" for an independent Scotland

• The party wants to address issues including the cost of living, access to healthcare, businesses' ability to hire staff and child poverty, he said

The speech came hours after the Conservatives and Labour announced their latest policies in the lead up to the general election on 4 July - here's a reminder of those pledges.

Image source, PA Media

Having dedicated some of his speech to condemning the Tories and comparing Labour to them, Swinney is asked by another reporter why he thinks Labour are doing so well in Scotland.

He acknowledges that the SNP has had its "difficulties" in recent months - following the resignations of former first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf, and the police investigation into those managing party funds.

However, he says the party is now "on the front foot" and campaigning around Scotland is well under way.

Swinney also says people have had "prolonged austerity from the Conservative government and that needs to come to an end" - but questions how pledges by Labour to maintain current self-imposed fiscal rules will work when it has committed to not raise corporation tax, VAT, income tax or National Insurance.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney's taking questions from reporters now. The first comes from BBC Scotland editor James Cook, who puts to Swinney that he's said leaving a 50 year old union with the EU has wiped billions from the economy.

Why would leaving a 300 year old union with England not be even worse?

This is met with unhappy grumblings from the crowd and Swinney reminds them of the need for respectful disagreement. They duly comply and the question is heard.

Scotland's first minister says independence would allow Scotland to take decisions to enhance the lives of people in this country.

Do voters agree with Swinney, that Labour believe Scotland 'is in the bag'?published at 15:38 British Summer Time 2 June

15:38 BST 2 June

Phil Sim
Reporting from the SNP launch in Glasgow

John Swinney’s calculation is that a Labour win is already priced in for many in this election.

At his launch event, he predicted that “the Tories are on course for a huge defeat, a wipeout”.

The pitch is that the Tories are toast anyway, and Labour will have a big majority - so Scots don’t actually need to vote for Labour to achieve that. Indeed, he says they should vote for the SNP to keep Labour honest - to hold their feet to the fire.

He’s painting them as already being complacent - “they think Scotland is in the bag”.

The question is whether this message - that people can have a Labour government without actually voting Labour - will cut through with voters, compared to the rather more straightforward “change” narrative Sir Keir Starmer is selling.

Image source, PA Media

Listing off what he describes as some of the Scottish government's recent achievements in the cost of living crisis, Swinney tells supporters: "Your SNP government has transformed lives in Scotland and we have a record to be proud of."

"As junior doctors call strike action in England, Scotland is the only place in the UK where there has been no strikes because we have invested in pay for staff," he goes on, saying that the state of the NHS and cost of living remain top priorities for the SNP.

"We will always put Scotland's interests first," Swinney adds as he turns to independence.

He says he's looked closely at other countries in Europe, such as Denmark, Norway and Ireland, as a "model of what is possible" for an independent Scotland: "Those countries are wealthier than the UK, they are fairer with greater equality, they have higher productivity and lower poverty.

Highlighting the country's universities, energy sector and industry, he asks: "Then why not Scotland?"

The SNP leader jokes that 4 July - the day voters will go to the polls for this election - is known as Independence Day in the US. "It's a really good day for Scotland to follow suit," he jokes, earning a chuckle from the room.

People in Scotland want rid of a "disastrous" Tory government, he says, before suggesting that the SNP is the only party that will put Scotland's interests first.

Continuing to attack the Tories, he says never has a party demonstrated why they should be removed from office more than them. Mentioning the party's recently-announced national service policy, Swinney says "the national service the SNP is going to perform is to remove this Tory government".

Moving on to Labour, he says he's not suggesting Labour are exactly the same as the Conservatives - "but they are giving an awfully good impression of them". Giving an example of what he means, he says Labour are creeping towards using the private sector in the NHS.

Remember, you can tune into Swinney's speech by hitting Pay at the top of this page.

Image source, PA Media

John Swinney, now addressing the launch, acknowledges the short time he's been in the role.

"I think it's fair to say that neither you nor I thought I would be standing here as leader of the SNP and FM of Scotland, but I hope for you as it is for me the loveliest of surprises," Swinney tells an applauding crowd.

He became leader of the SNP and Scotland's first minister just under a month ago, after Humza Yousaf resigned following a botched attempt to end the party's power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens.

Swinney says he's "deeply honoured" to be leading the party, before launching into election mode.

With his sleeves rolled up, the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn takes to the stage to tell the party's launch event that "what we have in Westminster is a status quo".

"Not a single day lost to strikes in our NHS," Flynn says to applause, adding "this isn't an election it is a changing of the guard".

"Scotland deserves so much more. We believe in better," he also says.

We're now getting ready to hear from First Minister John Swinney - stay tuned for live updates or watch his speech for yourself by tapping Play at the top of the page.

Phil Sim
Reporting from the SNP launch in Glasgow

Image source, UK Pool

It feels like the SNP is very much reaching out to shore up its base today. There are people here in the audience wearing "Yes Scotland" T-shirts, with the pro-independence movement at the heart of this launch event.

The party’s campaign director - retiring MP Stewart Hosie - tells the crowd the SNP is the only vehicle for Scottish independence.

While they are facing constitutional competition from the Scottish Greens and Alex Salmond’s Alba Party, Hosie warns that "lending your vote to another party risks setting independence back".

It's also likely a dig at Labour, who are hoping to win back support in places like Glasgow in their bid to oust the Conservatives.

Successive speakers refer to Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party as being no different from Rishi Sunak’s one. The SNP are loathe to surrender the position they have sought to cement over previous campaigns, as the core anti-Tory vote in Scotland.

Image source, Social media

Let's quickly nip over to London, where Rishi Sunak has been pictured leafleting with Conservative candidates in London.

Party members shared images of the prime minister posing for photos with members while on the campaign trail in the capital.

We haven't heard from Sunak today, who visited the north-east of England yesterday after launching the Conservative campaign battle bus.

The SNP's election launch has started - and the stage is set for the party's recently-installed leader, John Swinney, who's due to talk shortly.

He'll tell those at the rally in Glasgow that Westminster decision-making has meant "austerity, Brexit and a cost of living crisis being imposed on Scotland" - and urge people to "vote SNP to put Scotland's interests first".

Before him, other party figures are speaking, including a number of candidates. We'll bring you the key lines from Swinney's speech right here, and you'll be able to watch it live by tapping the Play button at the top of this page.

Image source, UK Pool

Hope Webb
Reporting from Giffnock

Not far from Glasgow, in the town of Giffnock, the Scottish Conservatives have stopped at an ice cream shop on their campaign trail. They visited Valentini’s, which has been open since 1963.

The most popular flavour in store is vanilla, but Scottish Conservative deputy leader Meghan Gallacher chose a tub of raspberry ripple and shadow health secretary Sandesh Gulhane opted for banana.

While there, Gallacher pushed back against the SNP’s message of independence being a priority for the Scottish people.

"I’m not surprised. Page one, line one of the manifesto was always going to be independence," she tells me. "But actually it should be page one independence, but line two incompetence. That’s all the SNP have to offer for the people of Scotland."

Gallacher adds that independence is "not the priority of the people of Scotland - it’s the economy and our public services, both of which the SNP have failed on".

Swinney's pitch is clear - the question is whether he can convince voterspublished at 13:50 British Summer Time 2 June

13:50 BST 2 June

Phil Sim
Reporting from the SNP launch in Glasgow

In a way, the SNP's election campaign launch today is still part of John Swinney's launch - he's only led the party for about a month, having taken over from Humza Yousaf.

His pitch is that of a unifier, bringing together not just his party, but the country.

Perhaps that's why the launch event resembles a miniature party conference. Rows of seats for members in a big hotel conference room, a stage packed with party brass around a central lectern.

Prior to Swinney’s speech there will be remarks from no fewer than 10 candidates and activists, as well as the party’s campaign manager, Westminster leader and Mairi McAllan - one of the first minister’s key lieutenants at Holyrood.

There’s a clear attempt to show this is a team effort, a big tent.

Swinney says he’s brought his party back together after a fractious period - the question is whether he can bring the rest of Scotland under his banner too.

Image source, PA Media

As we've been reporting, Scottish First Minister John Swinney is due to launch the SNP's campaign at a rally in Glasgow soon.

Before that, though, the party's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has been speaking.

Appearing on Sky's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips earlier, he said a Labour government would be "extremely dangerous" for all of Scotland - and not just the north-east of Scotland, where the oil and gas industry is prominent.

Flynn highlighted ongoing speculation about Labour's move, if elected, to refuse new drilling licences by offshore operators - and whether this could cost the oil and gas industry 100,000 jobs.

This is not the SNP's position, Flynn said, but rather the position of industry experts who he said had warned that losing these jobs would make it harder for the UK "to reach net zero".

While there's a bit of a lull in this afternoon's campaign events, let's remind ourselves of some key dates coming up in the next few days and weeks - including election day itself.

Earlier this week, the first major TV debate of the general election campaign was announced - a head-to-head between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on ITV at 21:00 BST on Tuesday 4 June.

The broadcaster subsequently announced a multi-party debate for Thursday 13 June. It will feature representatives from the Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems, SNP, Reform UK, Greens and Plaid Cymru.

And while you're jotting those down, don't forget to make a note of these other key dates:

• Tuesday 18 June: The deadline is midnight on this day to get on the electoral register, which is needed to vote in any election or referendum
• Wednesday 19 June: The deadline to apply for postal voting is 17:00 BST on this day (there are slightly different rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland)
• Thursday 4 July: General election day - registered voters in each constituency vote for their preferred candidate at their local polling station

Image source, Getty Images

Faiza Shaheen says she is considering standing as an Independent candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green in north east London.

It comes after Shaheen told BBC Newsnight she was blocked from running as a Labour candidate.

She was blocked from standing by the party after complaints she "liked" social media posts that allegedly downplayed antisemitism.

She is asked on LBC whether she would consider standing for another party, or as an independent.

"I have to do things for the right reason," Shaheen says. "I don't want this to change me, and make me a vengeful person", she adds.

Pressed again on whether it could be a possibility, Shaheen says it is because "the person they've put in here is going down so badly" and people are saying "they've already given the seat back to Iain Duncan Smith, it's terrible".

"And also, I should be able to stand up for myself and for my community... This is not right", she adds.

A full list of candidates in Chingford and Woodford Green will be available on the BBC News website after nominations close on Friday.

It's a quiet day on the campaign trail but we have heard a few policies being announced. Here are the pledge we've learned about since yesterday evening.

New GP surgeries

The Conservatives say they would build 100 new GP surgeries in England and refurbish a further 150.

The party says it would also expand the number of treatments pharmacies can offer without people seeing their GP first to free up appointments.

Cutting net migration

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to cut levels of net migration to the UK.

The Labour leader says he would introduce new laws to train British workers in order to plug skills gaps in the jobs market and strengthen anti-exploitation laws.

More public health funding

The Liberal Democrats say they would increase the Public Health Grant by £1bn a year to fund health checks for older people, infants and mothers.

The extra money - which is paid out to local authorities - would be raised from a "crackdown on tax evasion".

Image source, PA Media

Earlier today during the Laura Kuenssberg programme, Yvette Cooper recommitted the party to scrapping the Rwanda scheme but indicated Labour may be open to alternative arrangements which involve sending people overseas to have their asylum applications processed.

The shadow home secretary said Sir Keir Starmer would look at "what works, and there are different kinds of... arrangements and things that have already been used at different times in the past".

In particular, she was asked about the European Union's Dublin Agreement, which the UK is no longer signed up to. It determines which states are responsible for asylum applications - usually the first place a person arrives - and allows for people to be returned to another country.

Referring to that scheme, Cooper said it previously meant "some people were returned to France or to Germany or other countries".

Labour has previously indicated it wants to negotiate a new returns agreement with the EU.

Polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice has been looking at the data on voters who still haven't decided who they're backing on 4 July.

You can watch his summary below.