A CULTURE of intimidation goes "right to the top of the SNP", a Liberal Democrat peer alleged.

Lord Purvis made the claim after allegations were made - strongly denied by the Scottish Government - that senior Nationalist figures had sought to bully businesses into silence on the referendum debate.

It follows reports which suggested First Minister Alex Salmond and Finance Secretary John Swinney had contacted executives at Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE), the body that represents Scotland's financial services industry, to try to "discourage" them against putting out an assessment on independence, which contradicted some of the SNP Government's arguments.

The Liberal Democrat peer said: "SFE represent companies that employ 200,000 people across the country. It is absolutely right they should have the chance to engage with the referendum debate in the way they see fit without fear of reprisal. These latest revelations paint a picture of a culture of intimidation that goes right to the top of the SNP."

Gavin Hewitt, the former chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, had claimed he was urged by the SNP's Angus Robertson to stay out of the debate. The allegation is strongly denied by the Moray MP and described as "utterly false" by the SNP.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Members of SFE have a variety of different views on the constitution and the Scottish Government believes it is important for that to be properly reflected; something which SFE has sensibly done, in contrast to the absurd position the CBI got themselves into."