Labour claim independence white paper was abuse of public money

Scotland’s top civil servant has been asked to investigate whether Alex Salmond’s independence blueprint broke strict rules over the spending of public money.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur will write to Sir Peter Housden after the First Minister said the Scottish Government’s White Paper “sets out the policies of the Scottish National Party”.

Public money should not be used to finance political party activity, because they are private organisations.

After First Minister’s Questions, Mr McArthur demanded a refund.

He said: “The First Minister has let the cat out of the bag. Why are Scottish taxpayers paying for what Alex Salmond admits is a 650-page policy document for the SNP?

“Even when questioned on this, the First Minister dug himself even further, qualifying that half of the document set out SNP party policies should Scotland vote to leave the UK.

“If it is the case that Scottish ministers are misusing public funds and public office in this way, taxpayers deserve a refund.”

Labour MSP Ken Macintosh has also written to the Auditor General for Scotland, asking her to investigate what he called an “abuse of taxpayers’ money.”