The Treasury spent more than £600,000 on newspapers and magazines between 2007-13 – but did not buy any Scottish titles.
Its chief secretary, Danny Alexander, was accused of being “out of touch” with Scotland and the “pressing affairs” affecting his constituents in Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey after it emerged that the P&J was not included on his department’s newspaper bill.
Inverness and Nairn SNP MSP Fergus Ewing spoke out after an answer to a parliamentary question showed the Treasury spent £615,056 on titles and magazines published south of the border and overseas between 2007 and 2013.
A spokesman for Mr Alexander described the claims as “total rubbish”, however.
He said the Treasury used an electronic monitoring service to get Scottish news and dismissed the notion of flying copies of the Press and Journal to London as “just barmy”.
A spokesman for Mr Ewing, Scotland’s minister for energy, enterprise and tourism, said the absence of Scottish titles from the Treasury’s newspaper list was “astounding”.
He added: “Danny Alexander’s department has spent over half a million pounds on newspapers, yet hasn’t bought a single copy of the Press and Journal or any other Scottish paper.
“Only by buying his local paper would he be able to keep up with what is going on in his own constituency.
“As everyone in Inverness knows, the P&J is by far the best source of local news – no wonder he is so out of touch these days.”
Mr Ewing’s spokesman claimed people across the Highlands and islands knew the MP’s first loyalties were to the Treasury in London.
“With this revelation, it has become crystal clear why he is so out of touch with the pressing issues facing ordinary folk in the region,” he added.
Mr Alexander’s spokesman said “This is total rubbish.
“Suggesting we fly copies of the paper into London at great cost is just barmy. Instead his office in Inverness buys the P&J and other local papers from a nearby newsagent, making sure the money goes to people in the Highlands.”
The UK Government said it had reduced spending on newspapers and magazines by 73% compared to the final year of the previous Labour administration – a fall of £139,003.