Scotland's First Minister reacted with fury to suggestions beaten Conservative Ian Duncan MEP will be installed in the House of Lords to become David Mundell's deputy at the Scotland Office.
Ian Duncan, the Conservative MEP who missed out on election in Perthshire by 21 votes, will be made a Lord and appointed a Scotland Office minister this week.
The Tory candidate who got SNP veteran Pete Wishart on the ropes in one of the general election's closest fought bouts has said the tide is turning against the country's nationalists.
The SNP could be on course for unexpected defeats in Perthshire and Angus, with tight results predicted.
The result of one of the election's key battleground constituencies is on a knife edge, but could be heading for a Conservative win.
Predictions that the Perth and North Perthshire constituency was to be a closely fought contest appeared to be reflected in a healthy turnout of voters.
A boisterous and confident Scottish Conservative election campaign is proving "helpful" to the SNP in seats like North Perthshire and North East Fife, Nicola Sturgeon has claimed.
For 55 minutes it all went so well.
The SNP will lose North Perthshire to the Tories but hold three-way marginal North East Fife in next month's general election, new polling data suggests.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson stopped off in Perth to meet with newly elected local councillors and help drum up support for Perth and North Perthshire general election candidate Ian Duncan. After addressing local supporters outside Perth Concert Hall on Saturday morning she made her way up Perth’s High Street chatting to shoppers.