SNP MPs have challenged Michael Gove to publish the results of his department's secret polling on attitudes to the union.
However the Cabinet Office minister retaliated by saying the Scottish Government had not revealed how it had spent the millions it has received from the Treasury for tackling the pandemic.
During the heated session in the Commons this morning, Stewart Hosie MP cited a recent High Court ruling on the awarding of contracts to companies with links to the Conservative Party using emergency Covid laws.
He said: "The High Court ruling by Justice O'Farrell concluded the Minister for the Cabinet Office acted with apparent bias in the unlawful action when he awarded contracts to his chums at Public First, who previously worked as advisors to him, to the Prime Minister and of course, Dominic Cummings.
"How can the minister justify syphoning off many many tens of thousands of pounds from Covid recovery work to fund this highly political research, obviously designed to inform the 'No' campaign in the next independence referendum?"
Mr Gove denied any such ruling was made against him personally, adding: "The Scottish Government has received more than £180m from the UK Government in Covid Recovery funds, and it's not yet the case that the Scottish Government has published how a penny of that money has been spent.
"So before asking for greater transparency from this government, I think it would be appropriate if you were to ask his colleagues in the Scottish Government to publish accounts for every single penny that has been received, and how it's been spent, so that we can be assured, as I'm sure will be the case, of course, that the Scottish Government has used its resources appropriately to fight Covid."
SNP MP Marion Fellows suggested the research was being kept hidden "because it's bad news" and asked Mr Gove that if this was not the case, "and the union is indeed as strong as he and his ministerial colleagues say, what reason does the government have for fighting its release, for years?"
Mr Gove responded that "we don't need to look anywhere else other than the current public opinion polls that show support for independence declining and support for the United Kingdom is increasing."
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