SNP accuse Scotland Office of '˜GDP spin operation' on BBC

The SNP has hit out at the Scotland Office after accusing them of supplying misleading graphics to the BBC on Scotland's GDP.

David Mundell MP

A briefing note, first revealed in the National, was sent by the party to the BBC after the corporation used a Scotland Office graphic on Reporting Scotland.

The better-than-expected figures showed that Scotland was on pace to outgrow the rest of the UK, despite previous concerns that the country could be heading for a recession.

SNP figures said that the graph, which apparently showed a growth measure for GDP out of context, is in stark contrast to a social media campaigning in which the Scotland Office, headed up by David Mundell, tried to ‘claim credit’ for the economic results.

Last week’s figures showed that the Scottish economy had grown by 0.8 per cent in the first quarter of the year, four times better than the UK figures.

Nicola Sturgeon’s party were quick to claim that the figures were a positive outcome of their investment and infrastructure strategies.

Former First Minister Alex Salmond, who once called the Scotland Office “The anti-Scotland Office” said that unionist parties were guilty of acting like ‘merchants of doom’ over the prospects for the country’s growth.

Kirsty Blackman, SNP economy spokeswoman, told the paper: “The fact is that it has been a good week for Scotland’s economy. Scotland’s diverse and resilient economy will not be undermined by such duplicitous moves.”

A spokesman for the Scotland Office said: “We welcomed the figures. The idea we sought to undermine them is nonsensical.”