ALEX Salmond was last night urged to submit his plans for independence to an outside audit by the UK Government's spending watchdog.

Labour said the First Minister should "put his money where his mouth is" and follow the party's lead by offering his plans to the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) for scrutiny.

Last week, shadow ­chancellor Ed Balls told his party's conference that Labour wanted the OBR to assess the pledges in its 2015 General Election manifesto.

The move was designed to head off claims that Labour would overspend in office.

Set up by Chancellor George Osborne in 2010, the OBR currently has no remit to examine non-government spending plans, prompting the Tories to dismiss Balls's offer as a "stunt".

However, OBR ­chairman Robert Chote said that if parliament provided extra resources and expertise, it could do the extra work.

Cathy Jamieson, Scottish Labour's Treasury spokeswoman, said: "If Alex Salmond really believes he has nothing to be afraid of, and that his plans for higher spending on pensions and welfare are compatible with lower taxes for big business, then he should let the OBR take a look at his figures and independently audit them."

A spokesman for the First Minister said: "In the first instance, the OBR has no remit. Secondly, the Scottish Government's Fiscal Commission, including two Nobel laureates, is already working to shape the development of a robust fiscal and macroeconomic framework for an independent Scotland.

"Thirdly, and problematically for Cathy Jamieson, the OBR has been dismissed as being politically partial by Alistair Darling."