The SNP has hit back at criticism from Ukip leader Nigel Farage, saying his comments would only increase support for independence.

In an interview with The Herald, Mr Farage claimed that the Scottish Government's 2014 referendum campaign was "dead in the water".

He described Scottish Nationalism as a fraud, said Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was out of her depth over Europe, and insisted the SNP was advancing a "completely false argument" – that Scotland could leave the UK and be independent yet become part of the European Union.

He predicted that the 2014 European elections, just a few months before the expected independence referendum, would be a watershed for Ukip in Scotland.

Mr Farage said: "There is complete intellectual and economic dishonesty in the SNP's arguments, and I have got no time for them."

However, the party hit back yesterday, saying the support of Mr Farage for its opponents could only help its cause.

"This will drive thousands of people to vote Yes in 2014," a party source predicted.

As a political party, Ukip has made little or no headway in Scotland.

In the 2009 European elections it came sixth behind the Greens with just under 5% of the vote.

However, the party appears to be on the rise in England, coming second in a recent Westminster by-election.

Fears over Ukip's influence also drove David Cameron to pledge an in-out referendum on the UK's EU membership in 2017.