BORIS Johnson has been branded “dangerous and unfit for office” by Nicola Sturgeon as she launched her party’s election manifesto with an attack on the Prime Minister.

The SNP leader said she would not help return Johnson to Downing Street but instead said that, while not being a fan of Jeremy Corbyn, she could deal with the Labour leader.

She set out a list of reasons why she felt Johnson unfit.

The First Minister said: “His comments on Muslim women and gay people, the way in which he casually insults and offends, we cannot trust a single word that comes out of his mouth, he dodges scrutiny...

“He is absolutely set on taking Scotland out of the EU against our will. These are just some of the reasons I think Boris Johnson is unfit to be Prime Minister.”

At the launch at Glasgow nightclub venue SWG3, Sturgeon focused on denying the Tories a majority, stopping Brexit and demands for a second independence referendum.

Sturgeon said the NHS would be under threat from a Boris Johnson trade deal with Donald Trump, and that a No-Deal Brexit would be a “disaster” and a “catastrophe for jobs”.

She added: “His dream is a nightmare for Scotland.”

The First Minister said that being asked to choose between a Corbyn or Johnson government at Westminster was like being “caught between the devil and the deep blue sea”.

She said that while she would not choose Corbyn as Labour leader, Labour had more in common with the SNP in social and economic outlook than the Tories did.

She added: “The Labour manifesto borrowed quite a lot of the SNP manifesto.”

She listed free prescriptions, free personal care and publicly owned water, before adding: “I could go on.”

The SNP leader said her MPs would be willing to join in a “progressive alliance” with others to “lock the Tories out of Downing Street”.

However, she laid down preconditions for co-operation.

Top of the list was a second referendum on Scottish independence.

Sturgeon said: “There must be no veto on the right of the people of Scotland to decide their own future. Our message is if you cannot support the most fundamental of democratic principles then the SNP cannot and will not support you.”

She also said that Trident was on the table, describing its removal as a “key element” of securing the party’s support.

The manifesto also set out a range of SNP policies on the NHS, benefits, drugs and climate change action.

In the event of a hung parliament, any attempt to form an alliance with opposition parties would involve negotiations with Labour – as well as the LibDems.

After spending much of her speech criticising Corbyn, Sturgeon also had strong words for the other party leader the SNP would have to deal with.

The First Minister attacked the LibDems and their party leader Jo Swinson.

She said that the LibDems in coalition with the Conservatives between 2010 and 2015 had been responsible for budget cuts that took millions out of the Scottish budget.

At a glance: SNP manifesto’s key pledges and aims

Here are the key points in the SNP manifesto unveiled by Nicola Sturgeon...

Tackling the drugs crisis: Call for devolution of drug policy to create safe consumption rooms.

Benefits: A halt to Universal Credit and an end to the benefits freeze, two-child tax credit limit and rape clause.

Health: An NHS protection Act to guarantee trade deals will not undermine the NHS’s founding principles.

Nuclear weapons: Build a cross-party coalition to scrap Trident as quickly and as safely as possible.

Maternity Pay: Increase maternity leave to one year at 100% of pay for 12 weeks then 90% or £150 for 40 weeks – whichever is lower.

Pensions: Protect the triple lock on pension rise by inflation, earnings or 2.5% – whichever is highest. Oppose increase to state pension age and reverse cut to pension credit.

Employment: End age discrimination of minimum wage.

Climate change: Demand UK matches Scottish targets on emissions reduction.

Immigration: Seek devolution of immigration powers for a Scottish migration system.

Brexit: Support a second referendum on Brexit with remain on the ballot paper. Support revoking Article 50 if it is the only alternative to a No-Deal Brexit.

Independence: Demand the UK Government transfers powers under the Scotland Act to ensure Holyrood can take a decision on a second referendum.