Nicola Sturgeon has condemned "appalling, shameful and unacceptable" working practices at Sports Direct.

Ms Sturgeon was responding to boss Mike Ashley's admission he paid workers below the minimum wage during First Minister's Questions at Holyrood.

The issue was raised by Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie, who criticised the "deeply unethical" practices at high-street stores Sports Direct and BHS revealed during House of Commons committee sessions this week.

He said: "Major names on the high street stand accused not only of paying poverty wages but playing fast and loose with people's health and throwing their employees on the economic scrapheap on a whim even while the owners line their own pockets."

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Mr Harvie called on the First Minister to use the Scottish Parliament's devolved powers to "ensure unethical and exploitative business practices are driven out of the Scottish economy".

Ms Sturgeon responded: "I think what we heard this week in evidence down in Westminster from Mike Ashley about practices at Sports Direct was absolutely and utterly appalling, shameful and unacceptable, and every right-thinking person in this country should condemn that unequivocally."

She highlighted the Scottish Government's business pledge designed to promote good business practice and its "zero-tolerance" approach to unethical practices.

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Ms Sturgeon, who is due to take part in a European Union (EU) referendum debate on ITV, added: "One of the reasons I will be in London tonight taking part in the debate on the EU referendum is I don't want us to move to a position where we've got a completely deregulated labour market and people like Boris Johnson able to rip up the workers' rights that the EU guarantees in this country."

Mr Harvie urged the First Minister to do more to compel businesses to comply with good practices, including cutting them off from taxpayer support.

She responded: "Some of what we heard this week was illegal.

"When companies break the law in how they treat their staff they should be held to account, not just in how we distribute government money, they should be held to account through the law of the land."