Tavish Scott, Shetland MSP and former leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, heard from senior Scottish civil servants at the Public Audit Committee this morning that Sir Peter Housden has made it clear that independence is the number one priority for the Scottish Government and the civil service.
Tavish Scott MSPMr Scott raised the issue of civil service impartiality after Sir Peter was accused of showing bias towards the political stance of the SNP and a senior SNP MSP boasted that a top British civil servant expects Alex Salmond to win the referendum on Scotland's future.
Mr Scott has lodged a motion to the Scottish Parliament calling on Sir Peter to cease and desist any activity that may call his impartiality into question.
Commenting after the committee meeting broke up, Mr Scott said:
"It is no surprise that independence is the independence is the main priority of the civil service in Scotland, after all they are doing their masters bidding.
"As we know from his increasingly political emails to staff, Sir Peter Housden is rapidly becoming the chief cheerleader in efforts to split Scotland from the rest of the UK.
"I have always believed in the impartiality of the civil service and I know that many good men and woman working for their country who regret the politicisation of the civil servants under the tenure of Sir Peter and the Nationalists.
"Scotland should not have to contend with a whole system of government geared to serve a minority opinion when there are much bigger challenges to deal with, as today's unemployment figures show."