First Minister denies ‘con’ at referendum over forecast for economy

● SNP accused of ‘selling false hope’ with estimates that were billions out

Nicola Sturgeon has rejected claims that the SNP’S prospectus for independence was a “con” after official figures indicated that the party’s economic estimates were billions out.

Scotland had a deficit of £13.25 billion in its public finances in 2016/17, according to the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS).

This was an improvement but last year would have marked the first year of independence if Scots had voted Yes in 2014 when the SNP’S white paper predicted a deficit of between £2.7-£5.5bn.

Opponents last night accused the SNP of “selling false hope” to Scots voters during the referendum when it was also claimed that oil revenues would provide about £6.8-7.9bn in revenues to the Scottish Treasury. Despite a small improvement last year, this only brought in £200 million.

Asked whether the Scottish Government’s white paper on independence had been a “con”, Ms Sturgeon said: “I don’t accept that in any way, shape or form.

“Nobody, not myself nor any of the opposition parties or you guys [journalists] foresaw the decline in the oil price.

“That was a change in circumstance that happened after publication of figures in the white paper.

“The white paper figures that were published were based on the