THE country's most senior civil servant is back in the spotlight over allegations of straying into party politics, after making critical remarks about NHS reforms in England.
Sir Peter Housden was captured on video at a health seminar telling Scottish NHS managers that the plans by Tory Health Secretary Andrew Lansley were "a solution to no known problem".
The Permanent Secretary at St Andrew's House added that Mr Lansley was struggling to persuade people the NHS could be improved by GP commissioning, saying: "People could see some of that argument, but to base a system on all of that seemed to be enormously risky."
At the meeting he also equated voting SNP with being ambitious for Scotland, saying of last May's result: "I think the election result affirms a level of ambition, a population that wants to see Scotland move forward." The criticism of the English reforms angered Scottish Tory MSP Murdo Fraser, who said: "Senior civil servants should not be expressing views on party political matters. Once again, Scotland's most senior civil servant is exposed for being far too cosy with Alex Salmond's separatist agenda."
However, a spokesman for the Scottish Government defended the mandarin, saying: "A key part of Sir Peter's role as head of the Scottish Government civil service is to discuss important issues in public policy.
"On this occasion he was illustrating the Scottish Government's approach by contrasting it to the different nature of NHS reform elsewhere in the UK."
He has received the backing of Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont who said: "Peter Housden has caught the mood of people not just in Scotland, but across the whole of the UK.
"The Tory reforms would be a disaster for the NHS."
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