Sir Ed Davey has defended a Scottish Lib Dem candidate who donated more than £40,000 to the Conservatives.

The party leader described Angus MacDonald as “clearly a Liberal Democrat at heart.”

He said the Fort William councillor hoping to win Lochaber, Skye and Wester Ross had made the sizeable donation because of his opposition to Scottish independence.

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Details of a £25,000 gift made in the dying days of Theresa May’s leadership were first revealed by The National newspaper last week.

According to the Electoral Commission’s database of donations, Mr MacDonald offered the Tories the money on 15 May 2019, the day before Boris Johnson announced his intention to contest the leadership of the Conservative Party.

The database shows Mr MacDonald also donated £5,000 to the local Tory party in Perth and Kinross on 1 April 2016.

Another £2,500 was given to the party's branch in Ross, Skye and Lochaber on 15 May 2017.

A further £7,501 was handed to the party in Perth and North Perthshire on 27 April 2017.

He also previously gifted the Liberal Democrats £5,000 in 2015.

Speaking to The Herald as he launched his campaign for Scotland in North Queensferry, Sir Ed insisted Mr MacDonald was a “strong Liberal Democrat.”

“He realised that the Conservatives have let down our country,” he said.

“And one of the issues that motivated him, I think, in the past has been his opposition to independence.

“So when he supported other parties, I think it's been that that he's wanted to stop independence.

“But he's clearly a Liberal Democrat at heart and shares many, many of our values and he's fighting a fantastic campaign.”

Mr MacDonald told The Herald he was "an active donor to anyone who held the feet of the SNP to the fire" and that he also gave money to Scotland and Union and Better Together.

"Ruth Davidson was running the Tories then and was doing a good job."

Mr MacDonald said that under Liz Truss and Mr Johnston, the Tories "moved a long way from any party I could support."

"I wasn't a member of any party then but became a Liberal Democract when I stood for the Highland Council Elections in May 2022," he added.

"I would describe myself as left of centre socially and right of centre economically."

Meanwhile, Sir Ed also said he was “increasingly confident” there would be more Liberal Democrats MPs than SNP MPs after the election.

He said gains in England and Wales and losses for John Swinney’s party in Scotland would see him lead the third largest group in the Commons.

The Lib Dems were reduced to a rump after their stint in coalition with the Conservatives and have never recovered.

They lost 49 of their 57 MPs at the 2015 election. Their numbers jumped from eight to 12 at the 2017 election, but they dropped to 11 in 2019 when Jo Swinson lost her East Dunbartonshire seat by 150 votes to the SNP’s Amy Callaghan.

It was a symbolic moment for the party. Ms Swinson had gone into the campaign claiming she could be the next Prime Minister.

Nicola Sturgeon’s enthusiastic celebration of her defeat soon went viral.

Boundary changes mean the seat is now a key target for the Lib Dems and their candidate Susan Murray.

“The response she's getting on the doorstep is utterly phenomenal,” Sir Ed said. “So we're really, really enthusiastic about her campaign. That's a seat we really think we can take back.”

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The party leader said the health service and dentistry would be at the heart of their campaign, even though both are devolved.

“I've been quoting the issue about VAT on children's toothpaste and toothbrushes.

“It may seem minor to some people, but actually, when you look at the facts, the biggest reason that children go to hospital is tooth decay, for tooth extraction. Isn't that a scandal?

“We should be doing everything across Scotland, across the UK to look after our children's teeth.”

He sai the crisis in dentistry was being raised repeatedly on the doorstep.

“I'm not saying it's not been an issue in the past. But it's the scale of the issue. And voters are really noticing. I can't ever remember people talking about dentist deserts.

“And I can't ever remember people talking about DIY dentistry.

“People going online to get kits to knock off their own teeth. I mean, this is horrible.”

Asked about his party’s prospects at the election, Sir Ed said: “I think the chances of us overtaking the SNP in number of MPs at Westminster is increasingly high, for two major reasons.

“The SNP are being found out by the people of Scotland. They’ve governed for 17 years they haven't delivered.

“They can't deliver in Westminster. People want to get rid of them. And they're voting for other parties, including the Liberal Democrats to get rid of SNP.

“So the SNP number of MPs will definitely fall, potentially vary significantly.

“And likewise, both by winning seats here in Scotland, but also in England, Wales, the number of Liberal Democrat MPs is going to rise.

“We don't put a number on it. There's no ceiling on our ambition but I am increasingly confident that there'll be more liberals than nationalists in the next parliament.”