Independent Scotland could keep pound, suggests Alex Salmond

Responding to public questions in Bathgate, West Lothian, on Tuesday, Mr Salmond said: “I’m seeing the Governor of the Bank of England tomorrow in Edinburgh. When I met his predecessor [in June] . . . the first thing he said to me was 'your problem is what they say now’, meaning the Treasury, 'and what they say the day after a Yes vote in the referendum are two entirely different things’.”

The claim that Lord King, one of the UK’s most senior economists, believes the Treasury is saying one thing but preparing to do another is also likely to rile Whitehall.

Critics questioned the timing of Mr Salmond’s intervention and called it a “remarkable coincidence”.

“Just hours before the visit of the current Governor of the Bank of England, Alex Salmond makes a claim about something that may or may not have been said by Mark Carney’s predecessor. In a double coincidence, this alleged conversation backs up Alex Salmond’s arguments,” a Better Together spokesman said.

The possibility of Scotland using the pound after independence has become one of the key battlegrounds of the referendum debate.

UK government ministers have questioned whether such an arrangement is possible, with Chancellor George Osborne saying it is “unlikely” the rest of the UK would want such a currency union. Mr Salmond has repeatedly said the pound is as much Scotland’s as the UK’s and expects to continue using it after a Yes vote.

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