The SNP 'will fudge' a second referendum on independence, a leading Rise party politician has said.

Former Scottish Socialist Party MSP Colin Fox  said that he expects the SNP not to back a second referendum in the next parliament. He believes the SNP are beginning to resemble the Labour party.

Fox said: "I expect them to fudge it when their manifesto comes out next week. It seems to me the SNP is like the Labour was one hundred years ago. The Labour party was established to build a socialist Britain and before long it became more important for the Labour party to have MPs in parliaments and to run constituencies and have governments. They forgot the cause.

"The SNP is in that classic position of forgetting. The SNP exist to achieve independence. Now it is all about getting John Swinney elected, Fergus Ewing elected all about getting MSPs elected in areas that there was a No vote and forgot about independence.

Fox, who was an MSP for five years, said that the SNP's approach to independence is "fatal".

He said: "That is fatal in my opinion. Once you start forgetting what you about you lose sight of your ambition and that is what Rise will never do - we are for independence as it is a means to an end".

Rise are standing on every regional list in next month's Holyrood election.

Election Face to Face features party leaders in the Holyrood elections being interviewed by STV News Political Editor Bernard Ponsonby:

It is screened on STV Glasgow and STV Edinburgh at 8.30pm and then on Scotland Tonight on STV at 10.30pm.