A DOCUMENTARY claims explorer David Livingstone was a ruthless and often violent liar who was prepared to abandon or beat companions if they stepped out of line.

The BBC1 Scotland programme, presented by historian and archaeologist Neil Oliver, claims Blantyre-born Livingstone was obsessed by personal ambition.

In The Last Explorers, to be shown next week, Oliver says Livingstone claimed he'd found a trading route he knew to be impossible. Oliver said honesty would have led to the expedition being cancelled, something Livingstone couldn't allow.