AN SNP blogger resigned from the party last night after Tweeting that British soldiers in Afghanistan were "ignorant racists and child killers".
Tommy Ball, in the course of a number of Twitter exchanges, had said: "I won't support an organisation which bayonets children - Ignorant racists who join up for the thrill of killing human beings. There's no British soldier fighting for anything I believe in. Bunch of child-killers."
The SNP said Mr Ball had contacted HQ to resign from the party, implying this was for a combination of reasons involving the tweets and the suggestion that he had been a party activist in Govan.
Labour MP Jim Murphy said: "This is sick stuff which will offend anyone with an ounce of decency."
Tory leader Ruth Davidson said: "It's high time the First Minister led by example by reining in this kind of inflammatory language."
Referring to the latest death of six soldiers at the hands of the Taliban, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "On a dark day like this, this Nationalist should mourn the loss. On Sunday I warned Alex Salmond about his cybernats."
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