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Scotland's tightest election victory could face a legal challenge, it was claimed last night.

Defeated Westminster candidate Elizabeth Riches and her Liberal Democrat colleagues are taking legal advice over whether to mount a challenge to Friday morning’s dramatic General Election result in North East Fife.

The Lib Dem was beaten into second place by the tiny margin of two votes against sitting SNP MP Stephen Gethins.

(Image: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images)

The first count of the poll had put Riches ahead by three votes – but then they were recounted three times, with the first of these recounts placing Riches ahead by two votes, but the second and third recounts both giving Gethins the advantage by two votes.

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Riches said: “We are taking legal advice.

“I think we had a 26-hour day. For the staff doing all the counting, they were very tired at the end and they made the point themselves – the more times the votes were counted, the stickier they became and the harder it was to be accurate in their counting.”