NICOLA Sturgeon has said it is “despicable” for Boris Johnson to be “indulging in anti-immigration rhetoric”.

Scotland’s First Minister criticised the PM after he said EU migrants have been able to “treat the UK as if it’s part of their own country” for too long.

Speaking during a campaign trip to Coatbridge yesterday, Sturgeon said migrants should be welcomed to Scotland and the UK as a whole.

“I think Boris Johnson’s dog-whistle comments on migration are just one of many examples why we don’t want him, and shouldn’t want him, to be Prime Minister,” she said.

“My view is that, in principle, if somebody comes to Scotland to make it their home and make a contribution here, they should be welcomed.

“And they should be able to treat Scotland as their country and their home because that is what it is and that’s the kind of open, inclusive, tolerant Scotland I want to see, not just now but in the future.”

She added: “There’s also a much more hard-headed argument here.

“We know from our own population projections that Scotland has to be able to attract people from other countries if we are to keep our working age population growing, contributing the tax revenues that then allow us to support our NHS and other public services.

“So this is a really important issue and I think it is really despicable that we’ve got Boris Johnson indulging in this anti-immigration rhetoric.”

The First Minister also warned against the prospect of a sell-off of the NHS under a Tory government, as well as the stripping back of environmental and worker rights.

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard told voters Thursday’s election “isn’t just about Brexit” as the campaign enters its final few days.

Pushing a message of investment in public services and the NHS, Leonard asked people to consider whether they wanted five more years of austerity with the Tories or cash to “expand” the health service with Labour.

He argued the Tories are pursuing a hard Brexit while the SNP are focused on securing another independence referendum.

Leonard said: “We are the only party which is putting forward a democratic solution to the chaos of Brexit.”

He added Labour would offer the public “the final say” within six months.

Speaking outside Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children, he suggested Labour’s investment in the Scottish health service – part of £100 billion of additional spending north of the Border – would help to improve doctor recruitment across Scotland.

With just four days to go until polling day, Leonard said he would be urging voters to think about who they want in Government for the next five years.

He said: “We’ve had a really good response on the doorsteps, we are getting across our message.”