The Scottish Conservatives have reported a “misleading and partisan” Twitter post from the Scottish Government to the Permanent Secretary.
Party Chairman Craig Hoy has written to Permanent Secretary John-Paul Marks in relation to a tweet posted by the Scottish Government’s official Twitter account on Monday about the paper outlining their economic case for independence.
The tweet featured a two-minute plus video clip featuring a series of graphics with claims about the economy of an independent Scotland, but were not backed up with any accompanying facts.
This included a graph claiming Scotland’s economy would grow faster with independence, but with no statistical data alongside it.
The video also stated that with independence Scotland would no longer be tied to the UK’s “Brexit-based economy” which the post said evidence has shown has delivered low growth and high inequality.
Craig Hoy’s letter accuses the post of breaking Section 15 of the Civil Service Code which states that civil servants must not “act in a way that is determined by party political considerations or use official resources for party political purposes”.
He has asked John-Paul Marks to make a ruling on the tweet and whether it upholds the values of honesty and impartiality.
Craig Hoy added that he is worried that this is another example of government resources being used to promote independence and the SNP’s wish for another referendum next year.
Scottish Conservative Chairman Craig Hoy MSP, said: “There is a duty for Civil Servants to abide by the Civil Service Code when it comes to political impartiality, but this post clearly did not do that.
“It is another deeply worrying example of government resources being used to promote SNP propaganda and their relentless push for a divisive independence referendum next year.
“That is completely unacceptable and is why I have written to the Permanent Secretary to rule whether this tweet crossed a line regarding honesty and impartiality.
“The post was littered with misleading and partisan claims with a complete lack of facts to even attempt to back them up.
“Taxpayers will be seriously questioning the neutrality and reliability of these posts in future, given the Scottish Government were all too happy to peddle the SNP’s economic case for independence.
“The Permanent Secretary must intervene here and take action against a post which was a clear breach of the Civil Service Code.”
Notes: Craig Hoy's letter to John-Paul Marks is attached.
The tweet in question can be viewed here: https://twitter.com/scotgov/status/1581970596229156867