Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of going "into hiding" to avoid the publication of her government's figures showing how much weaker Scotland's finances are than the UK's.

For the first time since she became First Minister in 2014, she will not appear at the launch on Wednesday of the annual Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (Gers) statistics showing the scale of the country's deficit.

She is instead expected to campaign in the Shetland Holyrood by-election and leave politically contentious launch to Derek Mackay, her Finance Minister and mooted successor.

The Scottish Tories and Unionist groups accused of her of running scared of figures that she fears will "expose even more holes in her plan for Scottish separation."

They pointed out Ms Sturgeon, who wants another independence referendum next year, has found time to make a series of appearances at Edinburgh's fringe and book festivals.