Humza Yousaf to present another taxpayer-funded Scottish independence plan

Humza Yusuf's SNP is pushing for Scottish independence despite a Supreme Court ruling last year that it lacks the authority to hold another referendum on the issue. Credit: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images

Humza Yousaf will release another taxpayer-funded report on Scottish independence just days after Britain's most senior civil servant said he was considering crackdown.

Jamie Hepburn, SNP Independence Minister, said the party would release a paper on Thursday outlining proposals for citizenship in a separate Scotland.

He said the report, the fifth paper in a series meant to shape a new avenue of independence, would also cover proposals for a Scottish passport and how they intend to use immigration to «grow our population».

However, the publication came just days after Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, said it would be «unusual and a little disturbing» if UK taxpayer-funded civil servants were used to try to divide the country.

Mr Case said that «a number of cases» had been brought to his attention and he is now discussing the «legitimacy and ethics» of the matter with ministers.

Stephen Flynn, leader of the SNP in Westminster, wrote to Case on over the weekend, protesting that Westminster is trying to «prevent the Scottish government from doing the job for which it was elected» after independence.

in civil servants using public funds to campaign for Scottish independence. Photo: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images

Successive cabinet secretaries have given the Scottish government the green light to use officials and public money to advance their independence campaign, arguing that civil servants have an obligation to support the political goals of SNP ministers.

However, pressure on Mr Keyes to intervene intensified last November when the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Scottish Parliament did not have the right to hold an independence referendum as the constitution was a matter entirely reserved for Westminster.

There was even greater outcry when Mr Keyes Yousaf became Independence Minister in March after replacing Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister.

He also continues to publish the «Creating a Nova Scotia» series of articles on independence, started by Ms Sturgeon's government, with the last part of the report on citizenship.

It will outline who can automatically become a Scottish citizen after the breakup of the UK, as well as the ways in which others can become eligible.

«Outright misuse of public money»

Alexander Stewart, deputy spokesman for the Scottish Tory constitution, said: «These plans for independence are in flagrant misuse of public money and SNP resources.

“Civil servants should support the government's agenda, not push the pet project of the nationalists at the expense of the taxpayers.”

“The SNP is constantly blurring the lines between party and government. It is totally unacceptable for the SNP to waste taxpayers' money and civil servants' time to promote a divisive party political agenda that the Scottish government does not have the power to pursue unilaterally.»

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, a Labor Party colleague, said: «This is a provocative act in the wake of Simon's retrial and they should think again.»

Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: «Taxpayers will be upset that the SNP is forcing them to fund yet another fantastic document.» what it means to be a citizen of this country”, including the introduction of a much less restrictive immigration policy.

He said: «Independence will also allow us to adopt a fairer and more benevolent approach to citizenship, making it easier for those who have made Scotland their home to settle here permanently, helping to increase our population and sustain our communities and public services.

«The proposals in this paper explain how we plan to achieve these goals on our way to reunification with the European Union as an independent state, and I look forward to presenting them to the First Minister on Thursday.»

My Flynn wrote to Mr Case asking for clarification on his comments to the Lords Constitution Committee, saying: «I assume there are various other initiatives in Whitehall in support of the UK government's pro-Union political position. I have no objection to that.

«But I find it difficult to understand why this work is considered 'impartial' and the work of the Scottish government on independence is not.»

He argued that the continuation of the latter was «fully in line» with the Civil Service Code.