VIEWERS criticised BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty’s interview with Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie this morning as she pressed him on his party’s independence stance.

Viewers accused the presenter of asking questions in an “aggressive manner” and creating a “hostile” interview environment.

The segment got off to a bumpy start as Munchetty asked if they could “dive straight in with this issue of a second independence referendum”.

She asked: “If you were in government and supporting, propping up the SNP, would you support it, in its drive for independence, a second referendum within the next one or two years?”

Harvie replied that “obviously” Scottish politics is about much more than the constitution – adding that only the media is “speculating” about some from of coalition between the two parties after next week’s election.

The co-leader had not finished the sentence before Munchetty jumped in and said: “Okay, well here’s the deal. Why don’t we talk about that and then we’ll also talk about the other issues as well.”

A good-natured Harvie went on to make the Green position – which is to hold a referendum within the next parliamentary term – clear.

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“Not immediately, not during the current public health crisis, but once that has passed. The Covid-19 recovery phase is when we ask deep questions about the kind of society we want to see emerge,” he explained.

Munchetty persisted in her line of questioning, asking again: “So would you support the SNP in its drive for a referendum within one or two years?”

Smiling, Harvie responded: “Would they support our drive?

“Our position is that it should be called within the next five years. I think the SNP are saying it should be within the first half of the parliament.

“My personal view is once the emergency legislation, the coronavirus emergency legislation, is no longer in place, that might be a reasonable time to start pinning down a date.

“I think it’s a little too soon just now but clearly, it can be down within the next five years.”

Online, Twitter users were unhappy with the questioning. “I really don’t understand why Naga Munchetty began the interview with Patrick Harvie in such an aggressive manner,” tweeted @sdoddsy.

“Totally unwarranted. It would be nice if they put half as much effort into challenging the Tories bunging public cash to their mates.”

“Shouldn’t they put the same amount of effort into all their interviews?” One follower replied.

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Another Scot added: “Oh dear, what a wasted interview with Patrick Harvey. You can see straight from the get-go that the interview is hostile.”

Meanwhile another Twitter user said the interview was “dreadful” and called on interviewers to “at least try to be polite”.

Recent polling shows the Greens are on track to gain a number of MSPs at the May 6 Scottish Parliament election.

This week’s Savanta ComRes survey indicated they could more than double their current number of representatives, achieving 11 seats.