Scotland's biggest parties to face each other in TV debate

The leaders of Scotland's two biggest political parties will face each other on Tuesday night in a televised debate that is potentially crucial for the future of Scottish politics - and the UK general election.

With Scotland looking increasingly likely to decide whether the opposition Labour party wins a majority on May 7, Jim Murphy - leader of Scottish Labour - is running out of time to stem the tide of support for Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National party.

Ms Sturgeon's appearance in the four-way debate comes just days after she angrily denied reports she had told the French ambassador she would favour David Cameron as prime minister over his main rival, Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Tuesday's Scottish party leaders clash will also include Willie Rennie of the Liberal Democrats and Ruth Davidson for the Conservative party.

Labour had hoped that the energetic Mr Murphy, who became leader last autumn, would by now have started to reverse the rise in support for the SNP, but this has not happened.

Ms Sturgeon on Sunday invited Labour to join forces with her after the election to "lock" Mr Cameron out of Downing Street - regardless of which is the largest party in May.

She said that the SNP wanted to work with a progressive government, not destroy one.

Reforms in 2011 that fixed the length of parliaments "make minority government possible at Westminster in a way that wasn't previously practical," she said.

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The party is campaigning against the SNP, warning that every Scottish vote lost to the nationalists is more likely to propel Mr Cameron back into power. The party has ruled out a coalition with the nationalists but could still enter an informal arrangement.

The report of Ms Sturgeon's conversation with the French ambassador has already prompted Jeremy Heywood, the UK's top civil servant, to launch an investigation.

The story was based on an official's second-hand account of a conversation between the first minister and the French ambassador.

Ms Sturgeon and French diplomats emphatically denied that she expressed any preference for Mr Cameron in the conversation.

The memo was written by a UK official on the basis of a telephone conversation with French consul-general Pierre-Alain Coffinier about a visit in February to Edinburgh by French ambassador Sylvie Bermann.

It said Ms Sturgeon confessed during the private conversation that "she'd rather see David Cameron remain as PM" and "didn't see Ed Miliband as PM material".

The leaked memo is dangerous for the SNP because the Tories are widely unpopular in Scotland and nationalists have worked to reassure voters that backing them rather than the Labour party in May would not keep the Conservatives in power.

The story sparked a political storm that has overshadowed positive media reports about Ms Sturgeon's performance in a UK party leaders' election debate on Thursday.

Mr Miliband said it showed the SNP's claims to oppose a Conservative government were false. "These are damning revelations," Mr Miliband said.

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