FURIOUS Scottish Tories have written to the SNP’s chief executive, urging him to stop selling party-branded face coverings.

Annie Wells told Peter Murrell it was a “tasteless venture” to profit from the public health measure brought in by the Scottish Government earlier this month.

The SNP started selling masks and “multi-functional headwear” on their website last week.

There are currently eight designs available online. They include tartan, a Saltire, the party’s favoured tone of yellow, all branded with “SNP”.

There’s also a plain white mask, with the new Yes logo embroidered. Prices range between £8 and £14.

The Scottish Tory deputy leader said the SNP should take the coverings off their website and donate the proceeds of any sales already made to “causes fighting coronavirus”.

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Wells (pictured) said: “It is really disappointing that the SNP is refusing to remove this unfortunate merchandise from their website.

“It seems that in their rush to make some money the SNP has forgotten that thousands of people have died from Covid, causing extreme suffering to their friends and families.

“As a result, I have written to Mr Murrell, the chief executive of the SNP, to ask him to remove these items from the extensive merchandise that the SNP already offers.

“Any profits that have already been made should now be donated to charity.”

In her letter, Wells says Murrell will “profit, both financially and politically, from a public health measure imposed by your own party.”

She added: “I would therefore urge you to stop this immediately, and as a gesture of good will, donate the proceeds to causes fighting coronavirus.”

An SNP spokesperson pointed out that football clubs and many others have launched their own branded face coverings.

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They added: “We would encourage everyone to help suppress the virus by following the guidance on face coverings.”

SNP MP Pete Wishart tweeted: “Have the Scots Tories really not got anything else to concern themselves with? If they don’t want an SNP face mask then simply don’t buy them. I’ll be ordering mine tomorrow.”

It wasn’t just the Tories who were unhappy. Over the weekend, Labour councillor Malcolm Cunning tweeted: “The folks at @theSNP would put a logo on their granny’s coffin if they thought it would gain them a single vote. Bad taste doesn’t cover it.”

SNP councillor Mhairi Hunter accused Cunning of “feigning horror” over the products.

“Face coverings are going to be part of how we live for some time to come,” she argued. “We need to think of them the same way as our clothes. Things we put on every day when we go out to the shop or to get a bus etc.”

Meanwhile, the former Tory MP Anne Widdecombe has suggested “mask-haters” like herself be given a special hour at the supermarket so that they can shop “unmuzzled”.

Writing in the Daily Express, Widdecombe said: “I suspect that mask-haters will, as will I, avoid the shops as much as possible.”

The former Brexit Party MEP added: “Perhaps shops should allow certain hours when the mask dissenters can shop unmuzzled in the same way as they have allocated special times to the elderly.”