A FRESH row has erupted over "independence creep" among senior Scots civil servants, after The Herald uncovered evidence of state-funded staff appearing to show bias towards the SNP.

In a letter to a member of the public, a senior official said Scotland was preparing “to be a modern, independent nation” even though there had been no enquiry about independence.

Opposition parties claimed it was another example of civil servants “going native” under the SNP, rather than remaining politically neutral.

It comes after the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders at Holyrood complained to the head of the UK civil service about the pronouncements of Scotland’s top mandarin, Permanent Secretary Sir Peter Housden. In letters to Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell, Iain Gray, Annabel Goldie and Willie Rennie accused Sir Peter of becoming an advocate of the SNP’s plans rather than remaining neutral.

It followed the leaking of an email Sir Peter sent to staff two weeks after the SNP’s victory in May’s Holyrood elections and another in which he praised the “ambitious and exciting programme” of ministers.

The latest letter obtained by The Herald was written on August 11 by Trevor Owen, Human Rights Policy Officer in the Constitutional and Parliamentary Secretariat, in reply to a query about furthering human rights compliance.

He wrote: “The Government engages regularly with the Scottish Human Rights Commission and other key partners in the delivery of this ambition, and will continue to do so as we prepare to be a modern, independent nation.”

Mr Gray said: “This is simply further evidence of the SNP’s narrow separatist agenda permeating down through the civil service.

“With the majority of Scots firmly against separation and no date even set for a referendum, it is grossly inappropriate for supposedly impartial civil servants to be using the political language of separatism. I fear the politicisation of the civil service has become endemic within Scotland.”

LibDem leader Mr Rennie said: “This is more evidence to support our suspicions that the civil service has gone native. We pride ourselves on the impartiality of the civil service, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the SNP is encouraging a creeping politicisation.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Once ministers have determined policy, it is the Permanent Secretary’s responsibility to ensure staff understand the political landscape and expectations on us.”