THE SNP has refused to condemn one of its MSPs after she launched a blistering attack on councils and claimed that those who support decentralising power from Edinburgh wanted to "bring down Holyrood".

Backbencher Joan McAlpine, who served as a Parliamentary Liaison Officer to Alex Salmond while he was First Minister, accused non-SNP parties in local government of "empire building" and said they wanted to "channel money back to their cronies".

Writing in her weekly newspaper column for which she is paid £20,000 a year, she blamed school closures, class sizes and the A&E crisis on local authorities, despite education and health being ultimately the responsibility of Holyrood.

Ms McAlpine added: "The anti-SNP parties want to 'devolve power from Holyrood' and had this written into the Smith Commission. They do this to bring down our parliament - because it is popular and the vast majority of Scots want it to have greater powers."

The comments sparked outrage from opposition parties, including the Scottish Greens who campaigned alongside the SNP for a yes vote in the referendum and, along with the nationalists, signed off on the Smith Commission report. The Green Party called on the First Minister to state whether she supported the remarks, as did the Liberal Democrats which accused Ms McAlpine of making "insulting, sneering and hypocritical claims" .

Meanwhile Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said he was "horrified" by the comments, which he said was evidence of of the "centralising" tendencies of the SNP.

He added: "She clearly has no respect at all for the role of local government and the very good quality public services that local authorities in Scotland provide as a result of the work of a lot of councillors of all parties, her own included, put in."

However, the SNP refused to condemn Ms McAlpine, instead issuing a statement in which it made no direct reference to Ms McAlpine or the column. It expressed support for "decisions being taken at Holyrood and by local authorities, according to which tier deliver the best outcomes for citizens".

A spokeswoman added: "For example, the SNP empowered councils by removing Labour ring fencing when we came to power in 2007, giving councils the power to decide their own spending priorities. The Community Empowerment Bill currently making its way through Parliament will also give more power to communities to have their say over decisions that impact on them."

COSLA, the body which represents Scotland's local authorities, mocked Ms McAlpine's claim that the Scottish Parliament has a greater democratic mandate than councils, pointing out that as a list MSP no-one had directly voted for the former journalist. It also pointed to research which showed local councillors were far more trusted among the public than national politicians, contradicting a claim in the article that "the parliament wins hands down".

Michael Cook, an independent councillor in the Borders and vice-president of the organisation, said: "This is a cheap shot. She seems to have taken a swipe at everyone and everything except herself and her own party.

"She clearly doesn't understand some of the things she is talking about. In the NHS for example we are talking about health and social care partnerships, it's a joint problem. She is lauding the council tax freeze but even within the SNP, thinking people now realise it's unsustainable."

Steve Cardownie, an SNP councillor who is deputy leader of Edinburgh Council, said: "When it comes to closing schools and nurseries, it falls to councils. We have to put forward a balanced budget by law. We have to make cuts but we're only doing so because of the budget we have been allocated."