SNP white paper costs reach £2.5m

Critics last night said the expense was a “great scandal” and called for the money to be refunded out of SNP coffers.

In a further twist, Finance Secretary John Swinney only updated the figures ­after MSPs had left Holyrood for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The bill includes more than £1.2million spent on the production and distribution of 80,000 hard copies of Scotland’s Future, which set out the SNP’s vision of a separate Scotland. 

Infamously, the document’s hugely ­optimistic economic predictions were built around an oil price of $110, which is ­roughly double the current figure.

A further £1million was spent to publicise the paper through various means, including leaflet and postcard campaigns.

Meanwhile, £131,000 was splashed on hosting 55 public events, including the launch at Glasgow Science Centre in ­November 2013.

Other meetings were held in almost every corner of the country, including Stirling, Falkirk, Aberdeen, ­ Arran, Inverness, Orkney, Aviemore and ­Edinburgh.

The latest figures came to light on Thursday in response to a question from SNP backbencher Mark McDonald.

However, Mr Swinney revealed only part of the total cost in his latest update and the full amount had to be added together from five separate sources.

In March, the last time the overall ­figures were made public, the cost of the white paper was put at £1.2million.

Last night, Scottish Conservative ­deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said: “It’s been well documented that the SNP is one of the wealthiest parties in the UK.

“It’s therefore unacceptable that it should have used taxpayers’ money to fund its obsession with breaking up Britain, particularly on a white paper which in its assumptions on oil prices proved to be a complete fantasy.

“People in Scotland did not expect to be the funders of partisan, fanciful Scottish Government propaganda.”  

Labour’s finance spokeswoman Jackie Baillie also called for the “massive ­expense to the public purse” to be repaid by the SNP.

She said: “At a time when families are struggling to provide the best possible Christmas, it is galling to learn that the SNP showed no restraint in using public funds to pursue their obsessions with independence.

“It remains one of the great scandals of the referendum that the resources of the Scottish Government were abused by the Nationalists.”

Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie added: “It is a statement of fact that, while our hospitals faced a beds crisis, teachers were cut from schools and our police force was merged, the SNP government was giving money hand over fist for their independence campaign.

"People may think twice before voting to rerun the referendum the SNP just lost, which is clearly what a vote for the SNP at any election will lead to.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman insisted the white paper had been a “landmark publication”.

“We were determined to ensure the public were as well informed as possible about its contents and the huge opportunities offered by independence, and there was a clear appetite for information,” she added.