Actor Brian Cox has said he is “worried” that the Scottish National Party (SNP) is backing away from independence ahead of the General Election.

The 78-year-old Succession star has been very vocal about his support for Scotland becoming independent and is also highly critical of Brexit.

He told BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that the "demon that we don't talk about and why we are so broke" is Brexit and pointing to an analysis by the financial media giant Bloomberg that it is costing the UK economy £100 billion a year, while an analysis by investment bankers Goldman Sachs found the UK economy is growing 5% less than it was in June 2016 when the UK voted to leave the EU.

Later in the programme, the Dundee-born actor was asked if he was looking forward to the SNP launching their manfesto, which is expected to happen on Wednesday.

"I am not sure what is going to happen," he said.

"There could be, as Plaid Cymru have done, a backing away of the notion of independence."

READ MORE: Swinney: Independence will be page one, line one in SNP manifesto

Asked if the SNP had backed away from independence, he added: “I don’t know if Scotland (has) backed off, but I think that it’s something that worries me, because I still… believe in independence.”

Mr Cox said he believes that if Scotland was independent it should be “part of these islands” and co-operative with the rest of the UK.

He added: “I do believe we need a new kind system.

“I don’t believe in the United Kingdom – I believe that we should have a sort of united federation with these islands, that each country should be independent, but come together to support the whole, instead of things being dictated, as we find in Scotland (things are done) on our behalf, that we have very little say.”

READ MORE: Ministers under fire as NHS buys 130 million single-use plastic cups

He referred to the referendum in which Scotland voted to stay in Europe while the majority of the UK voted to leave.

"The fact that we voted by 62% to stay in Europe and we lost out completely. We had no voice there."

With reference to Brexit, he said: “It seems to me that we are still suffering from that, and we’ve not done anything about it.

“So when we talk about other things, we can’t really talk in terms of where we are because we are suffering from Brexit.”

READ MORE: The former crime reporter tipped to be next Scottish Tory leader

Mr Cox said if he was a Conservative voter, he would be concerned by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as he claimed the parliamentary candidate for Clacton is “really ruining that party”.

He called the other manifestos that were launched last week the “same old, same old”.

Mr Cox added: “My feeling is just we need to get rid of the present Government. That’s the most important thing as far as I’m concerned.

“And I think at the moment it’s a very… I don’t know, I just wish I could be clearer about what’s going on and I’m not.

“And I’m not getting a sense of what’s what and who’s who; I’m getting a sense of who’s against… but I’m not getting enough of where we’re supposed to be going, particularly in relationship to poverty, particularly in relationship to the care of the working class, and I feel the working class (has been) a systematic sidestep for a very, very long time.”

SNP leader John Swinney, who is campaigning today n Aberdeen North and Moray East where Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross is standing, has said that independence will "proudly sit on page one, line one" of his party's General Election manifesto when it is launched next week.

Speaking ahead of the launch the First Minister said the manifesto would offer people in Scotland a "real vision of hope", in contrast to the "continuing despair" being offered by Westminster.

He said SNP MPs would oppose spending cuts and propose investment in public services like the NHS, and that his party would push for independence so that Scotland could "match the success of our European neighbours".

Mr Swinney said: "Austerity, Brexit and the cost-of-living crisis were all made in Westminster - and in this campaign the SNP is exposing just how much these bad decisions have damaged Scotland.

"It is only by becoming independent that we can secure the powers we need to match the success of our European neighbours - and that is why independence will proudly sit on page one, line one of our manifesto," he added.

Appearing later on BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg the Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap lorwerth said his party were not backing away from Welsh independence.

It was put to him that in 2021, at the election for the Welsh parliament, that the party had stood on an election platform of having a referendum on independence while now it was offering a consultation on the issue.

Ms Kuenssberg asked him why the party had backed off.

"We haven't backed off at all," he said noting independence was on the first page of the party's manifesto.

"It is my firm belief, that I have had all my life, that Wales won't reach it's potential until we have all those levers of change in our own hands," he said.

"But this isn't an independence election, this is about getting fair play for Wales in the here and now."