Sir Peter Housden faces fresh accusations of partisanship - Telegraph.co.uk

This newspaper revealed last year how Sir Peter criticised the Coalition Government's stance on devolution as "lost in the mists of time". He also urged officials to "embark on a journey of constitutional reform". Sir Peter is English and previously served as director and chief executive for Nottinghamshire county council and permanent secretary in the Department for Communities and Local Government. He moved to Scotland just two years ago.

His confidence that the referendum would not result in the status quo also provided the clearest indication yet of Mr Salmond's determination to include a "consolation prize" by asking a second question on devolving full tax powers.

Although the First Minister will next week announce a public consultation on his plans, including whether there should be a second question, Sir Peter's comments suggested Mr Salmond had already made up his mind.

Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said: "This is further evidence that under the SNP a poisonous atmosphere of politicisation hangs in the air.

"Scotland's civil service has long prided itself on steadfast impartiality, but in these comments Scotland's top civil servant appears to be more a craven follower of the First Minister than an impartial broker."

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, said the comments by a supposedly neutral figure were "staggering".

"The referendum campaign has not even started, yet Alex Salmond and his army of workers are already presupposing the result," she said.

"Sir Peter would be wise to distance himself from Alex Salmond's arrogant attitude towards the electorate."

Johann Lamont, her Labour counterpart, questioned what Sir Peter meant by a "positive result".

"I believe a positive result will be when the people of Scotland reaffirm our commitment to remaining part of the United Kingdom," she said. Sir Peter, who earns about £175,000 a year, circulated his thoughts about the

referendum in a briefing on Monday as part of his weekly update "from the perm sec".

He said a White Paper on the ballot would "now move more to centre stage" in the SNP administration's priorities.

Michael Moore, the Scottish Secretary, last week told MPs that Mr Salmond's referendum would be unlawful as constitutional matters were reserved to Westminster.

In his briefing, Sir Peter acknowledged that it was a "very big week" and said Mr Moore's intervention "moved the issues around independence to a new level". He predicted "serious" discussions between London and Holyrood to resolve the legal wrangle but that the referendum would not be shifted from 2014, despite the

Government's preference that it be staged as soon as possible.

Sir Peter concluded by telling staff: "These are certainly exciting times to be a public servant."

In a statement issued on behalf of Sir Peter, the Executive denied he had acted improperly.

A spokesman said: "The permanent secretary was simply stating that if there is a positive result in a referendum, negotiations and legislation will follow.

"It is entirely appropriate for the permanent secretary to explain the forward process to staff in this way." Sir Gus O'Donnell, then Mr Cameron's most senior civil servant, last year rejected complaints from Labour, the Tories and Liberal Democrats about Sir Peter's behaviour.

He said the mandarin was entitled to help Mr Salmond achieve his political objectives, even if this meant helping to break up Britain.