Alex Salmond said ‘more could have been done’ to address drug deaths during his time as first minister, as the Alba Party leader visited Dundee yesterday.

Scotland would have to make “difficult fiscal adjustments” after independence, a new report has said.

The Institute for Government (IFG), said Scotland’s deficit will likely be worse than the 7.7% of GDP reported in 2018-19 due to the pandemic, adding that the effect of the last year “could be lasting” on public finances.

While the IFG admits it is not clear what an independent Scotland’s fiscal position would be – and that would be dependent on negotiations with the UK Government – the think tank says the current level of deficit, paired with maintaining the current level of public spending “would not be sustainable” if Scotland leaves the UK.

The report also said the fiscal outlook across the UK is likely to be worse for some time to come, adding it would be “reasonable to assume that the fiscal balance of all four will be even further into the red over the next five to 10 years than it was in 2018-19 without further action to raise taxes or cut spending”.

To bring the deficit down, the IFG claims a newly-formed government of an independent Scotland would have to impose spending cuts and tax rises – most likely on assets such as land or property.

Scottish Tory economy spokesman Maurice Golden said the report “lays bare the chilling economic reality of ripping Scotland out of the UK”.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes added: “Scotland is a rich country – however, we don’t yet have full control over those many resources.”