Sturgeon mandarin: We can keep working on indyref2

Civil servants can ‘support policy objectives’ despite court ruling, says Scottish permanent secretary

NICOLA STURGEON’S senior mandarin has ruled that Scottish Government civil servants can continue working on her independence plans despite the Supreme Court’s ruling she does not have the power to hold a referendum.

Jon-paul Marks, permanent secretary, said that it was “entirely appropriate” that officials continue to support the Snp-green coalition in “pursuing its policy objectives”.

He insisted that Ms Sturgeon’s government “accepts and respects the judgment handed down by the Supreme Court” that holding an independence referendum is a policy entirely reserved to Westminster.

But he committed thousands of taxpayer-funded civil servants to “upholding the highest standards in serving the Government of the day”.

Mr Marks did not comment directly on whether Ms Sturgeon could continue to allocate £20million of public money to stage another separation vote next year, noting that the Scottish Budget for 2023/24 will be unveiled on Thursday. He pledged that as the Scottish Government’s “Principal Accountable Officer”, he was committed to the “propriety and regularity of Government finances.”

But Donald Cameron, the Scottish Tories’ shadow constitution secretary, said the mandarin had failed to address “the central point” of whether Ms Sturgeon could continue spending millions on a referendum she does not have the power to hold.

Mr Cameron said: “If the Scottish Government are as committed to integrity as they say, the £20million set aside for a referendum will immediately be redeployed. If the indy ref two war chest remains in place, this letter won’t be worth the paper it is written on. It will be a scandal if it’s not dropped from Thursday’s budget.”

He expressed hope that “behind the scenes” Mr Marks had made this point to the First Minister, arguing it would be “outrageous” for her to continue spending public money on a separation vote following the unanimous ruling.

Ms Sturgeon has so far refused to reallocate her £20million fund, saying she hoped the UK Government would perform an about-turn and allow a referendum. She also said that public funds and civil service time would be spent preparing a series of papers that together will form a new independence prospectus. Three had been published before last month’s court result.

But Mr Cameron wrote to Mr Marks demanding “urgent clarification” on whether the spending is lawful, pointing out that Ms Sturgeon’s next plan is to try and turn the next general election into a “de facto” referendum.

He pointed out that this was an SNP party political gambit and not a “Scottish Government policy”. Toni Giugliano, the party’s policy officer, has confirmed that the independence papers would be used to shape the SNP’S election manifesto.

It also emerged Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary and the UK’S most senior mandarin, and Mr Marks were considering the implications of the Supreme Court ruling for Scottish Government civil servants.

In his reply to Mr Cameron, Mr Marks said Mr Sturgeon had been clear that her government would “always be guided by a commitment to democracy and respect for the rule of law”.