A Lib Dem candidate who said he supported a second independence referendum has insisted the comment was tongue-in-cheek.
Ritchie Cunningham, Lib Dem candidate for Inverness, made the comment at the end of a hustings in Kingussie on Thursday night.
The hustings was on environmental issues but independence was raised after two hours of debate, when Mr Ritchie said he thought there should be a second independence referendum so everyone would stop talking about it.
Conservative candidate for Inverness Nick Tulloch said the comment shocked the meeting.
He said: “It was a jaw-dropping moment.
“Ritchie had the final word and used it to say he supports a second referendum.
“I think it somewhat harms his credibility, given his party’s stance against a second referendum.”
However, Mr Ritchie said his Conservative opponent did not understand his sense of humour.
He said: “It was a tongue-in-cheek moment and more of a dig at the SNP.
“Half the room was SNP activists and, although they were all perfectly polite, we still ended up talking about constitutional issues at a hustings about the environment.
“We are all sick fed-up of hearing about another referendum and that was the point of my jibe – sooner or later we’re going to have to kick this issue into the long grass.”
Mr Ritchie said he wanted this election to be about issues affecting people’s day-to-day lives.
He said: “We need to be talking about the economy, health and social care, because these are the issues really affecting people.
“Obviously Brexit is going to have a huge impact on all our lives and that is key for me.
“Trump pulling out of the Paris Agreement has also highlighted how much we need action on climate change.
“Most people want to talk about these sorts of issues and have no desire to be talking about another referendum.”