Nicola Sturgeon cannot remember basic details of new independence blueprint in car-crash TV interview

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on stage during the Scottish National Party's spring conference at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC), Aberdeen
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on stage during the Scottish National Party's spring conference at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC), Aberdeen Credit: PA

Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of undermining the SNP's new economic blueprint for independence after failing to answer "the simplest of questions" about its contents during a car-crash TV interview.

The First Minister repeatedly avoided answering how much the growth commission report said it would cost to set up a Scottish state, before finally admitting she had forgotten.

In another deeply embarrassing lapse, she also could not recall the blueprint's costing for a new social security system but insisted both numbers were "realistic.

Ms Sturgeon is usually an accomplished media performer and extremely well briefed, but opposition parties said the exchanges with Channel 4 News demonstrated...

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