Opposition leaders are demanding the Scottish finance secretary makes a Holyrood statement after being rebuked by the Bank of England.
Earlier this week John Swinney claimed the Scottish Government had held “technical discussions with the Bank of England (BoE) regarding our proposal for a currency union”.
In an unprecedented move the bank issued a denial stating it had “not entered into discussions with representatives of the Scottish Government about proposals for future monetary arrangements in Scotland”.
The BoE rebuke sparked accusations the Scottish Government was trying to dupe voters over its currency plans.
Last night pressure mounted on Mr Swinney to make a formal statement to the Scottish Parliament.
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Gavin Brown said: “There are serious questions to be answered by the Scottish Government.
“That is why we have formally requested a ministerial statement to parliament at the earliest available opportunity.
“This is an extraordinary situation, where the neutral Bank of England has taken the step of issuing a statement which contradicts a claim made by the Scottish Government about their plans for independence.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: “Scottish Liberal Democrats fully support calls for a statement from John Swinney.
“Time is running out and the people of Scotland deserve nothing less than detailed answers on this significant exaggeration.”
Labour finance spokesman Iain Gray accused Mr Swinney of going into hiding, using an “anonymous spokesman” to defend him and avoiding TV studios.
“Where is John Swinney? He must be mortified after being rebuked by the Bank but as a public servant he must explain himself,” he said.
“Why hasn’t he appeared to explain and apologise for misleading Scots on the currency?”
The Scottish Government insisted it had always made clear there had been “technical discussions and not negotiations”.