NICOLA Sturgeon has lain down the gauntlet to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Asked whether the First Minister backs an Evening Times call for Mr Johnson to come to Glasgow and see the worst effects of Tory policy, Ms Sturgeon went one better.

The SNP leader said she would make it a "personal invitation" - and give him a tour of the city.

Ms Sturgeon said: “I would back that call for the PM to come to Glasgow, although we thought he was going to come to Glasgow on Monday but he didn't quite here.

“In fact, I would not just back that call, I would make it a personal invitation and escort him around to see the effects of Universal Credit and the Serco evictions myself.”

Last week we told how the Evening Times has invited the UK's new Prime Minister to Glasgow so he can meet people affected by three core government decisions.

Our letter asked Mr Johnson to meet city residents struggling after the introduction of Universal Credit - those in rent arrears and those living in hardship.

We also called for him to take a first hand look at how Glasgow is affected by drug related deaths and see the reality behind the statistic of the increase of 40 per cent to 280 deaths in 2018.

Hundreds of asylum seekers face homelessness due to plans by Serco to evict people from their homes.

Mr Johnson did come to Scotland last month - but side-stepped the country's biggest city.

Instead, he went to Faslane Naval Base, near Helensburgh and met Ms Sturgeon in Bute House in Edinburgh.

Welfare reforms were instigated by one of Mr Johnson's backers, Iain Duncan Smith, following a visit to Easterhouse in 2002.

The realisation on his vision is causing misery for thousands of families nearly 20 years later

So far, 10 Downing Street has failed to respond to the Evening Times' letter.

But the Prime Minister can surely not resist an offer of a personal tour from Ms Sturgeon.

The call has also been backed by the leader of Glasgow City Council, Susan Aitken.

She has also written to Mr Johnson asking him to engage with the council on similar issues and has encouraged him to respond to our letter, saying a visit is "vital to the wellbeing of the city."