SNP
finance secretary John Swinney yesterday made a climb-down six days after
claiming the Scottish Government were already having technical talks over the
use of the pound after independence.
He
set the record straight in Holyrood by conceding he did not mean to make people
believe discussions are under way.
Swinney
told MSPs: “If by my choice of words last week I have given the impression that
the Bank of England has been in negotiating a currency union, I can say to Parliament
that was not my intention.”
Technical
and factual discussions have taken place between government officials and the
bank in the run up to the referendum - but not on the specifics of the SNP’s
preferred deal, he admitted.
The
bank had taken the highly unusual step of publicly rubbishing his original
claim at the end of last week.
At
the time, Swinney’s aides said they were baffled by the reaction.
Tory
MSP Murdo Fraser - who raised the issue in Holyrood yesterday - said Swinney
was at risk of losing his reputation as a “straight talker”.
Fraser
said: “I cannot understand why it has taken six full days for the finance
secretary to set the record straight on such a critical matter.
