Former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling has rejected claims he is co-ordinating the campaign to stop a post-independent Scotland keeping the pound.
The head of the pro-Union Better Together campaign has been accused of masterminding the opposition to a currency union from the Tories, Liberal Democrats and Labour.
MSPs have quizzed him over his links to Treasury Permanent Secretary Sir Nicholas Macpherson, who he worked with while in power, and who has made public his opposition to the pound being shared.
Mr Darling told Holyrood’s economy, energy and tourism committee he met Sir Nicholas socially in March, but refused to reveal what was discussed.
SNP MSP Joan McAlpine said a Treasury source had claimed in a newspaper article “Alistair and Andrew are running the show – we just did what they said”.
She said: “They were referring to Andrew Dunlop, the prime minister’s special adviser for Scotland, who also advised Margaret Thatcher, and yourself.
“Can I ask when you and Mr Dunlop first ruled out a currency union?”
Mr Darling said: “We didn’t and it’s news to me that I am running the show as far as the Treasury was concerned. I did, but I don’t now.
“I don’t run the show. Of course I have discussed with Ed Balls, George Osborne, Danny Alexander a currency union. It would be extraordinary if I hadn’t done so.”
Mr Darling said contact between Better Together was done through political channels and not civil servants.
He said he saw Sir Nicholas every day for three years while he was chancellor, adding: “I’m not going to go into private conversations with him or anybody else for that matter.”