A Conservative candidate has withdrawn from standing in the general election following the discovery of “wholly inappropriate” comments on a fitness website.

Sam Trask, who was standing in the Bridgend constituency, made sexual comments about women on the MyFitnessPal website, according to The Mirror.

In a statement to the newspaper, Trask described the remarks as “wholly inappropriate” and said he had decided to withdraw as a candidate.

Nominations for candidates for general election seats close at 4pm on Friday.

The Conservatives won the Bridgend seat from Labour in 2019, when Jamie Wallis – who previously said he would not stand in the constituency at this election – secured a majority of 1,157.

Trask told The Mirror: “These comments were made a number of years ago, and I recognise they are wholly inappropriate. For that I apologise and have decided to withdraw as a candidate.”

Chris Elmore, Labour’s candidate for the Bridgend seat, called on the Conservative Party to re-vet candidates to ensure they were “fit to serve the public”.

Elmore said: “These lurid revelations pose serious questions about the calibre of candidates the Tories have been forced to select.

“People here in Bridgend rightly expect better from their candidates for public office.

“With the deadline for nominations approaching, Rishi Sunak still has time to do the right thing and re-vet his candidates to make sure they are fit to serve the public in Parliament.”

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “The Conservative Party does not condone these comments. We are looking into the matter.”

Kate Forbes has denied the Scottish Government is returning around £450m of earmarked EU funds.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said it is a “scandal” that ministers have not spent the EU Structural Funds which had been allocated to tackle poverty across the country.

But Forbes said the figure is “not recognised”, adding the Scottish Government will spend as much of the earmarked cash as possible by 2025.

A report by the independent Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) said the Government was initially allocated 941 million euros (£801m), however the figure now stands at 783.4 million euros (£667m) following a reduction of 157.6 million (£134m) because annual expenditure targets set by the European Commission were missed.

The report said that as of June 4, 64% of the revised funding had been paid out to the Scottish Government, with 280 million euros (£238m) – 36% – remaining.

It is expected a further two claims will be made by ministers, with the first likely to be submitted in July.

The SPICe report said that even after these claims are considered, around 136 million euros (£116m) had not been committed to lead partners by the end of the 2023 deadline.

Speaking in Holyrood on Thursday, Forbes said: “The SPICe report also indicates that that 450 million is not one that they recognise."

Scotland’s deputy first minister has said her Government was never against the granting of new oil and gas licences in the North Sea.

The Scottish Government’s draft energy strategy contained a presumption against oil and gas licences, but left space for some should they meet climate tests.

The SNP has been accused by opposition parties in the General Election campaign of being unclear about its position on the issue, with First Minister John Swinney repeatedly refusing to say if the policy still stands.

He has said the Government’s position will be published in the finalised energy strategy later this year.

But his deputy Kate Forbes this week said the party is not against new oil and gas licences – a position she doubled down on during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday when she deputised for Swinney while he attended D-Day commemorations.

Under questioning from Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, she said: “We’ve never proposed a policy of no further North Sea licences at all.

“We have said, quite clearly, that it has to be compatible with our climate change obligations and any licensing process has to be subject to a robust climate compatibility checkpoint.”

She said scientific evidence shows an “urgent need” to transition away from fossil fuels in order to meet international targets. Ross, however, accused Forbes of providing “no answer”.

He added: “Let me be clear, the Scottish Conservatives support new oil and gas licences, because new developments will protect jobs in the north-east of Scotland, but they will also support the just transition to net zero.

“They’ll being bills down, they’ll prevent us having to import costly oil from foreign countries, and they will secure Scotland’s energy future.

“The SNP are against new oil and gas licences, regardless of the impact on workers affected.” Ross went on to quote from a report published by the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce which claimed 100,000 jobs could be at risk if new licences are not approved.

Responding, Forbes sought to attack the Tory leader on his announcement earlier on Thursday that he intends to stand for a seat in the General Election.

Following news that ex-Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid has been barred from standing in the newly-formed Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat, Ross said he will seek the nomination – despite having previously said he will now focus on Holyrood.

Forbes accused Ross of betraying Duguid.

Douglas Ross denied the Conservatives had "sacked a man on his sickbed" after he replaced David Duguid as a general election candidate.

Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie has said he is “really sorry” to see his predecessor campaigning for Labour in the General Election.

Robin Harper, who was the first elected Green parliamentarian anywhere in the UK, has been volunteering with shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray as he bids to hold the Edinburgh South constituency.

Murray tweeted a photograph of “former trailblazing Green” Harper in his office, saying it was “lovely to have a new volunteer”.

He added: “Welcome aboard Team Murray, Robin.”

It comes after Harper last year quit the Scottish Greens, the party he was co-convener of between 2004 and 2008.

Harvie said: “It’s obviously disappointing when somebody moves away from what used to be their core values, and the core values that are still those of the Scottish Green Party.

“The Labour Party at the moment has gutted their green investment plan, from £28bn a year, which would have brought the UK up to comparable levels of state investment as the European Union.

“They have gutted that as they say there isn’t enough money for it, but (Labour leader) Keir Starmer says there is always enough money for nuclear weapons.

“That is a leader and that is a party that doesn’t share core values with the Green movement, and I am really sorry Robin has chosen to move away from that and thinks that that is a reasonable compromise to make.”

Deputy first minister Kate Forbes is facing opposition MSPs at Holyrood as she stands in for John Swinney who is attending D-Day commemorations.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said David Duguid is a “capable parliamentarian” who has respect across the aisles.

“As for Douglas’ decision, that’s really a matter for Douglas and the internal workings of the Conservative party,” he said.

Scottish Green Party co-leader Patrick Harvie was critical of Ross – insisting being an MSP is a full-time job.

“Douglas Ross’s commitment to increasing the number of jobs he has is pretty boundless,” Harvie said.

“People up and down the country are living with the cost of living crisis, they are living with the results of low pay that the Tory Government presides over and yet someone like Douglas Ross thinks he can never have enough high-paid jobs. It’s pretty shameless.”

Harvie described being an MP or an MSP as “serious jobs” that “require somebody’s full-time attention”.

He added: “The idea that you can just suddenly decide you will treat it as a part-time job and skip up and down between two Parliaments at once I think is shocking.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said the decision makes it clear “there is no promise flip flop Ross won’t break”.

She added: “Douglas Ross is treating his constituents with contempt by refusing to give up one of his three jobs and his shoddy treatment of his own colleague shows how morally bankrupt the Tories are.

“The Scottish Tories can no longer attempt to distance themselves from the carnage we have seen in Downing Street – Douglas Ross has always been right at the heart of this rotten Tory Government.”

The Conservative Party has accepted another £5m from Frank Hester, the businessman accused of saying Labour’s Diane Abbott “should be shot”, new figures show.

Electoral Commission data released on Thursday showed the payments from Mr Hester’s healthcare software firm, the Phoenix Partnership, in January, before he became embroiled in a row over the alleged racist comments.

He also handed the Tories £10m last year, taking the the total from the party’s biggest donor to £15m.

Abbott said the latest donation was “an insult to me and all black women”.

It was reported in March that the Conservative backer said in 2019 that Abbott – who in 1987 became the first black woman elected to Parliament – made him want to “hate all black women” and “should be shot”.

Mr Hester admitted making “rude” comments about Abbott, but claimed they had “nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Mr Hester has rightly apologised for comments made in the past. As Mr Hester has apologised and shown contrition we consider the matter resolved."