THE Scottish Office last night denied civil servants were effectively drawing up Labour's election manifesto ahead of the Holyrood elections, writes Annette McCann.
It followed a scathing attack by the SNP which is to make a formal protest to the Cabinet Office and the head of the Scottish Office, Mr Muir Russell, over the issue.
The SNP's chief executive, Mr Mike Russell, had accused the Labour Party of abusing the independence of the Civil Service by using its huge machinery to promote a raft of policies on health, education and law and order ahead of the elections in May.
He added: ''The Scottish Office has a series of announcements planned on Government initiatives which are basically Labour's offering to the Scottish Parliament elections. The entire might of the Civil Service is being used here and it poses a huge question of democracy.''
The controversy was sparked by the Scottish Office's decision to go ahead with the detailed proposals on land reform unveiled last week.
A Scottish Office spokesman said last night : ''The Civil Service is not in any way involved in the drawing-up of the Labour manifesto.'' He said the land reform announcement was a statement of Government policy and the final report of the land reform policy group.
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