A Tory peer has claimed the Scottish Government appointing a dedicated independence minister is a waster of money.
Malcolm Offord, who serves as a junior Scotland Office minister, said he was "concerned" by Humza Yousaf's decision to create the role and said the UK Government believed "taxpayers’ money could be spent more wisely".
He also slammed what he called the Scottish Government's "obsession with independence".
The First Minister appointed Jamie Hepburn in the new role of Minister for Independence when he named his first Scottish Government in March.
Yousaf has already been criticised for creating the role amid accusations that the SNP is focusing too much on independence.
Offord was asked by Scottish Labour lord George Foulkes whether the UK Government intends "to take further action on expenditure by the Scottish Government in relation to reserved matters."
The junior minister replied: "We will continue to work constructively with the Scottish Government in tackling all the shared challenges that we face.
"However, in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling, I am concerned at the decision to appoint a Minister for Independence.
"The Secretary of State for Scotland’s view is that taxpayers’ money could be spent more wisely on delivery for the people of Scotland and on devolved services."
Foulkes then asked the UK Government to intervene.
He said: "Is it not quite outrageous that they are spending £100,000 on a so-called Minister for Independence to go around the country in a party-political campaign to break up Britain?
"Even worse, there are 20 United Kingdom civil servants supporting him. Since there is only one body that can do anything about it—that is the UK Government, the Minister and his Secretary of State—when is he going to take some action?"
Offord said that the only way in which the UK Government could intervene was "through the courts".
He said: "The issue here is that devolution... was conceived to be a construct in which the UK and Scottish Governments would work together in unity.
"It was not envisaged that we would have a situation in which the Scottish Government would seek every opportunity to find division and diversion away from Westminster, and therefore there are no practical levers or mechanics built into the devolution architecture for the UK Government to directly intervene in devolved matters, except through the courts.
"We already had the ruling in the Supreme Court. The UK Government’s position is to continue to ask the Scottish Government to focus on the real priorities of the people of Scotland and stop this obsession with independence."
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