Salmond (pictured) responded to UK Chancellor George Osborne – who said yesterday a vote for Scottish independence would mean walking away from the pound – by attacking the three main UK party leaders.
Speaking to the BBC’s Newsnight programme, Salmond said the three pro-union politicians were guilty of “bluff because what they say now and what they say the day after a ‘yes’ vote are two entirely different things.
“Bluster because we are expected to believe that the Osborne idea is to tell business in England next year at the UK general election that he wants to impose a new tax on them of several hundred million pounds for the privilege of exporting their goods to Scotland.
“And bullying because the days of Westminster politicians dictating to Scotland are over. In fact one of my predecessors, former First Minister Henry McLeish, who is still a ‘No’ voter at this stage, has described it as threatening behaviour.
“So I think it will backfire spectacularly on the unionist politicians involved”.
Salmond’s comments come after Osborne and members of Labour and the Liberal Democrats rejected plans from Scotland to share the pound if plans for an independent Scotland are voted through.
The referendum on Scottish independence will be held on 18 September, with voters being asked the Yes/No question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
However, Treasury officials have also criticised the plans. Yesterday the most senior civil servant at the Treasury, Sir Nicholas Macpherson, said currency unions were “fraught with difficulty”.
Sir Nicholas “strongly” advised against a currency union with an independent Scotland “as currently proposed”.
The Scottish government has argued that keeping the pound and the services of the Bank of England as part of a currency union under independence made sense for both Scotland and the rest of the UK.
But Mr Osborne, Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls and Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander all said they could not recommend such a plan.
