The SNP could become the largest party in Scotland after the European elections, a leading nationalist MEP has said.

In an interview with ePolitix.com, Ian Hudghton said the party was delivering a "very strong campaign".

"At the last European elections in 1999 we were only 1.5 percentage points behind Labour," he said.

"We are confidently aiming and campaigning to top the poll this time."

The SNP is "concentrating all of our efforts on achieving that goal", the MEP told this website.

"It is entirely within our capabilities and we will see what the result is on the day.

"Mr Swinney is overwhelmingly supported and he’s leading a very strong campaign."

He said the key issue for his party is "Scotland’s voice, it’s position within the international community".

"At the moment we are a devolved region in the UK. We have no international relations of our own including no voice at the Council of Ministers table in Brussels," Hudghton said.

"We want Scotland to participate in the wider international community too. We want to work with the United Nations rather than bypassing it.

"We are certainly encouraging Scottish voters to punish New Labour because we believe an illegal war was entered into on the basis of a lie."