The vast majority of the £4 billion spent in Scotland on fighting coronavirus has come from the UK Government, it has emerged.

The Scottish Government has revealed  that more than £3.5 billion had arrived in emergency support through Barnett Consequentials from Westminster.

Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Donald Cameron said:

“This shows just how committed the UK Government is to supporting Scotland through this crisis.

“Essentially, nearly 90 per cent of the extra funding detailed in this document has been provided by the broad shoulders of the UK, and that’s before any account is taken of the very significant financial support in the shape of furloughing and other sums from the UK Government.

“It’s evidence that, in times of real crisis, the UK sticks together remarkably well.

Mr Cameron, a Highlands and Islands MSP, added:

“This support is particularly important for a region like mine which has a high dependency on sectors like hospitality and tourism which have been hit very hard.

”By working together all four nations will be able to emerge from the pandemic ready to face a brighter future.”

The cash has been used to arm the NHS and other social care services, and mitigate the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the economy.

And the £4 billion revealed today doesn’t even include the huge swathes of support which have come by way of the furlough scheme.

The figures were set out by ministers in yesterday’s budget revision document, and means almost 90 per cent of total support comes from the UK Government.