Sir Nicholas Macpherson said an independent Scotland committed to the EU could attract inward investment

A former top civil servant who Alex Salmond once accused of a hostile partisan attack on Scottish independence has said that Brexit presents “an extraordinary opportunity” for an independent Scotland to attract skills and investment.

Sir Nicholas Macpherson, permanent secretary to the Treasury during the 2014 campaign, said that Nicola Sturgeon had bolstered the Scottish government’s “fiscal credibility” since she took charge.

Sir Nicholas Macpherson said Edinburgh had “a historic opportunity” to develop as a financial centre RICHARD POHLE FOR THE TIMES

In an article for the Financial Times headlined “The case for Scottish independence looks stronger post-Brexit”, Sir Nicholas said that the UK’s decision to leave the EU “changes terms of debate north of the border”.

On Twitter, Ms Sturgeon wrote: “This from Nicholas Macpherson, the chief architect of the Treasury’s anti-Indy stance in 2014, is quite something.”

Sir Nicholas, now visiting professor at