NICOLA Sturgeon’s estimate for the state of the economy in the first year of an independent Scotland was off by up to £10billion, according to the SNP government’s own figures.

The annual Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) data showed a deficit of £13.3bn or 8.3 per cent of GDP in 2016/17.

The White Paper on independence, launched by the First Minister and her predecessor Alex Salmond in 2013, had forecast a deficit of £2.7bn to £5.5bn, or 1.6 to 3.2 per cent of GDP.

The difference was due to the subsequent halving of the oil price, with Scotland’s share of revenue from the North Sea collapsing from £8bn in 2011/12 to just £208m last year.

Opposition parties said the gap of up £10.6bn in what would have been the first year of independence after a Yes vote showed the SNP’s case had been a fraud.

Ms Sturgeon denied she had tried to “con” voters, and insisted the information put before the country was “reliable at the time” but “circumstances changed” with the oil slump.

She said: “The lower oil price had an impact on North Sea revenues and the wider economy last year. It is encouraging to see an improvement in the overall fiscal balance and that onshore revenues grew at their fastest rate in nearly twenty years.

“However, our long-term economic success is now threatened by Brexit, which risks reducing household incomes, employment and funding for public services. That is why we continue to press for the Scottish Government to have a direct role in Brexit negotiations.”

The GERS figures also showed the widest gap between the deficit in Scotland and the rest of the UK in 20 years, with Scotland’s figure more than triple the UK’s 2.4 per cent of GDP.

There was also a record difference of £1750 between how much Scotland contributed per head to the Exchequer in revenue and how much extra was received in public spending.

Overall, Scotland generated 8 per cent of UK revenue last year, had 9.2 per cent of public spending, and accounted for 30 per cent of the UK’s £46bn deficit.

However there were also more positive data, with the first growth in North Sea revenue for five years leading Ms Sturgeon to suggest the sector had “turned a corner”.

The Scottish deficit was also down from the £14.6bn of 2015/16, and the onshore economy grew by £3.3bn, or 6.1 per cent, the fastest rise since current records began in 1998/99.

“Scotland’s economy remains strong,” the First Minister said.

The Conservatives said Scotland had “dodged a bullet” by voting No in 2014.