A former Scottish Government minister has disclosed that he and several other SNP MSPs secretly voted for Brexit in the EU referendum and questioned why rule from Brussels would be better than being part of the UK.

Alex Neil, who served in Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond’s governments, said he had decided to vote Leave around ten days before the June 23 referendum but did not want to “rock the boat” by making his preference public at that time .

He told the Telegraph that he had since been approached by “a number” of SNP MSPs who did the same but who will not publicly contradict the First Minister’s pro-EU stance.

Among the factors Mr Neil said influenced his vote was the manner in which the EU had imposed extreme austerity on member states such as Portugal and Greece and a surge in support for Right-wing parties on the Continent.

He agreed Scotland, which has a higher deficit than Greece, could face a similar fate in the EU and warned the voting rights of smaller member states had been watered down.

The former Cabinet Health Minister also cited as a key reason for his Leave vote George Osborne’s threat of a Brexit emergency budget, in which the then-Chancellor warned he would slash public spending and increase taxes.