ALEX Salmond was urged to clarify his position on the SNP's plan for an independent Scotland joining a monetary union with the UK after he was accused of a U-turn – ruling out the need for a fiscal stabilisation pact months after saying there should be one.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "To use the pound and have the Bank of England as a lender of last resort would require an independent Scotland to live by the UK's rules."

A fiscal stabilisation pact would see the government of an independent Scotland agreeing limits for taxes, spending and borrowing as the price for joining a monetary union with the UK.

After a speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs last Friday, Mr Salmond said: "I don't believe a monetary policy restriction would have to have a fiscal stabilisation pact."

A spokesman for the First Minister said Mr Salmond was saying Scotland would have no difficulty adhering to fiscal discipline in a sterling zone as an independent country.