THE political career of a would-be Conservative councillor appears to be in tatters before it has even begun after The National exposed him as a liar over his stance on independence for Scotland.

Kieran Munro, 20, is one of the youngest Scottish Conservative candidates in May’s forthcoming council elections.

He is a candidate in Midlothian South, the area which includes Gorebridge and his home town of Newtongrange.

In a piece of effrontery that would make Donald Trump blush, Munro has concocted a “fake past” for himself, presumably in a bid to woo the Unionist vote in Midlothian.

An official Conservative leaflet distributed in the area stated that “during the Independence campaign, he played an active role in the Better Together campaign to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom.”

Trouble is, the leaders of the Midlothian No campaign don’t remember him but the Yes side do – “he was a very keen campaigner” said Midlothian Council leader Cath Johnstone, “and I should know as I used to give him a lift when we out campaigning.”

The National has obtained photographs showing Munro at a Yes rally and being pictured in a selfie with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, and last night the tyro candidate admitted to Tory inquisitors that, ahem, actually, he had worked for a Yes vote in 2014 but had changed his mind afterwards.

Nor is his “active role in the Better Together campaign” quite how Midlothian campaigners for both Yes and No recall his stance. Labour councillor Jim Muirhead, who will stand against Munro in Midlothian South and was a leading figure in the local No campaign, said: “He’s hardly into his political career and he’s already making contradictory statements – a u-turn before he’s even 21 isn’t exactly clever.

“I can’t recall him from the Better Together campaign here, I cannot remember him at all.”

The National spoke to three Yes campaigners who were at the count in Lasswade on the night of the referendum. All were adamant Munro was there with the Yes campaign and was tearful at the result – Midlothian voted 56.3 per cent No to 43.7 per cent Yes.

Cllr Johnstone said: “He was very active in the Yes campaign, and I remember him very well because he doesn’t have a car and lives up the road from me so I used to take him to meetings and rallies.

“At the actual count he was bubbling and really upset because of the result.

“I am very disappointed that he is lying about his past. He should have been open and up front about changing his mind and then we wouldn’t have been disgusted at him for telling lies.

Munro certainly has changed his mind about independence.

In his columns for The Backbencher website, Munro wrote: “We are a union making one nation, from the Shetland Islands to the Isle of Scilly and Gibraltar to the Falklands…Why isn’t it obvious that faux-independence was rejected not because of words spoken by former chancellor Alistair Darling or former Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy but because we are better united as one nation than separated into uncertainty?”

After The National contacted the Scottish Conservatives’ head office in Edinburgh, Munro’s Facebook page Munro4Midlothian was switched to deny public access, possibly because his profile picture was of himself with Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson.

It is understood that Munro was hauled over the coals by Conservative head office staff yesterday, and they are dismissing his lies as “youthful inexperience.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: “Kieran was up front about his change of allegiance when he joined the party in 2015.”