NICOLA Sturgeon has accused Jeremy Corbyn of failing to show leadership on anti-Semitism ahead of his first general election campaign visit to Scotland.

The First Minister said she did not know the Labour leader well enough to say whether he is anti-Semitic, as she faced questions over her willingness to help him into Downing Street.

Mr Corbyn will travel to Glasgow this morning as he kicks off a two-day visit north of the Border to build support in the face of disastrous polls showing a collapse in support for Labour.

He has faced repeated questions over his party’s handling of anti-Semitism allegations, and last week the Jewish Chronicle published an unprecedented front page urging voters not to back him.

Paul Masterton, the Tory candidate in East Renfrewshire – which has the largest Jewish population of any seat in Scotland – has accused Ms Sturgeon of putting her desire for a second referendum before the welfare of British Jews.

The SNP has ruled out any formal coalition with Labour in the event Mr Corbyn fails to secure a majority on December 12, but has left the door open to a looser alliance in exchange for a second independence referendum.

Ms Sturgeon said Mr Corbyn’s party is “unpopular in Scotland and has been dropping in support for quite some time”.

Asked if she thought Mr Corbyn is anti-Semitic, she said: “I think Labour has failed to deal with anti-Semitism, and I think it is a serious problem for Labour and I think they have a big challenge to do that.

“I don’t know Jeremy Corbyn personally well enough to answer that question directly.

“But I think he has failed to show the leadership on anti-Semitism that he should have done.”

Asked what she would say to Jewish community leaders concerned about the SNP helping Mr Corbyn into Downing Street, Ms Sturgeon said: “I don’t choose the leader of the UK Labour Party. If I did, I wouldn’t choose Jeremy Corbyn.

“If Jeremy Corbyn is in the position of being able to put together a government, it will be because significant numbers of people have voted for him, and I would want to stand up for Scotland’s interests.

“I wouldn’t choose a broken Westminster system. I wouldn’t choose Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn if I had the decision on that matter.

“Actually, that’s why I want Scotland to be independent – so we don’t have to have invidious choices of UK leaders that we don’t get to decide.”

Elsewhere, Ms Sturgeon confirmed she would support a second Brexit referendum next year – while also pushing for another independence vote.

She made the comments as she spent yesterday afternoon campaigning in Edinburgh South, where Labour’s Ian Murray – a high-profile critic of Mr Corbyn – has the largest majority in Scotland.

Last night, Mr Masterton said: “Nicola Sturgeon is right to say that Jeremy Corbyn has failed to clamp down on the stain of anti-Semitism in his party.

“What is baffling is why she is so happy to put him into No10 when she appears to share the concerns raised by the Jewish community.”

Speaking ahead of his visit, Mr Corbyn pledged massive investment in Scotland if Labour wins the general election, and criticised the “abject failures” of the Conservative Party in Westminster and the SNP in Holyrood.

He said: “A UK Labour government will provide the massive investment Scotland deserves.

“We will build the homes people need and end homelessness, tackle the climate emergency, provide a social care system that gives dignity to our older people and the carers who look after them, end child poverty and end fuel poverty.

“The SNP and the Tories have neither the ideas or the will to transform Scotland for the better, so are hiding from their records in government.

“This is a once-in-a-generation chance to transform Scotland and the whole UK. When Labour wins, Scotland wins.”

Scottish Tory MSP Annie Wells insisted Mr Corbyn “simply cannot be trusted” to preserve the Union.

She said: “Labour voters across Scotland are deserting Jeremy Corbyn’s party. Thousands of them voted to ensure Scotland stayed in our Union in 2014. Now they see a weak, out of touch Labour leader preparing to give Nicola Sturgeon just what she wants – a re-run as early as next year.

“From his weakness on the Union to the threat he poses to our security, Mr Corbyn simply cannot be trusted.

“He is an active risk to the Union.”