Alba Party leader Alex Salmond has said the First Minister “lost her nerve” on Scottish independence in 2017.
The former SNP leader was speaking on a podcast with independence supporters after he admitted his party were unlikely to get any seats in the Holyrood elections.
As well as Ms Sturgeon, Mr Salmond took aim at the leadership of the SNP, who he described as “graceless”.
He also singled out MP John Nicolson, describing him as a “poser”.
The Alba Party leader also claimed his party had helped the SNP in constituencies such as Banff and Buchan Coast.
Mr Salmond accused the First Minister of ‘losing her nerve’ on independence (Jane Barlow/PA)
Another Scottish independence referendum is the “will of the country”, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said in a victory speech.
The SNP and Scottish Greens have won a total of 68 seats in Holyrood, with more gains expected as further regional list results are announced.
Speaking on Saturday, the First Minister said her first focus would be on the coronavirus pandemic, but that the people of Scotland should be able to decide on the constitutional question “when the time is right”.
An independence referendum was pledged in the manifesto of both the SNP and the Scottish Greens, who have already picked up an extra seat on the Central Scotland list.
There are currently “no plans” for talks between the SNP and Scottish Greens on a possible coalition, a Greens source has told the PA news agency.
The chances of an SNP majority at Holyrood dropped significantly on Saturday after the party failed to take Aberdeenshire West from the Conservatives.
Throughout the election campaign, members of both parties were asked about a possible coalition in the event of no majority being secured and leaders on either side did not outright reject the idea.
The First Minister has also not ruled out working with the Greens in coalition (Jane Barlow/PA)
Just minutes after the announcement of the Aberdeenshire West result, a source in the Greens told the PA news agency there were “no plans” for talks between the two parties.