An SNP MP who is one of the party’s rising stars has disclosed she “held her nose” while voting Remain in the EU referendum.

The Telegraph can reveal that Mhairi Black told a public meeting in Aberdeenshire this week - part of the SNP’s renewed campaign for independence - that she voted for the UK to stay in the European Union with some reluctance.

Members of the 150-strong audience also claimed that she dismissed as “mythical” a claim by the Yes campaign during the 2014 referendum that independence would leave each Scot £5,000 better off.

An SNP spokesman said that Ms Black’s full comment at the meeting was: “If I’m honest, there was an element of holding my nose a bit when I voted Remain.”

He argued this was consistent with party policy as Nationalists had never pretended the EU was perfect, but had argued it was better to reform it from within.

But Holyrood’s opposition parties said Ms Black’s suggested lack of enthusiasm for a Remain vote further undermines Nicola Sturgeon’s case that Brexit could justify a second independence referendum.

One of the most high-profile and popular members of the SNP Westminster group and Britain’s youngest MP for 350 years, she has been touted as a future party leader.