Nicola Sturgeon has claimed Alex Salmond refused to read the SNP's independence white paper in the run-up to the 2014 referendum.
In an interview with ITV ahead of the publication of her new book, Frankly, the former first minister accused Salmond of an “abdication of responsibility” in the months before the vote.
She claims her former mentor chose a trade mission in China over reading a draft of the Scottish government's blueprint on independence, just a few weeks before it was due to be published.
Sturgeon, who was deputy first minister at the time, said she suffered a "panic attack" due to the pressure of pulling together the 670-page document.
“He really didn’t engage in the work of the drafting or the compilation of the white paper at all,” Sturgeon told ITV’s News at Ten. “He was the leader, he was the first minister, and he hadn’t read it.
“He told me he was going on a trade mission to China. I don’t think I’d ever felt as much cold fury at him as I did in that moment. It just seemed to me like an abdication of responsibility.”
Kenny MacAskill, who served in the SNP cabinet throughout the run up to the referendum, disputed Sturgeon’s claims about the white paper.
“The white paper was drafted by a team of civil servants,” MacAskill said. “All cabinet secretaries were given copies to review. Alex Salmond oversaw every aspect of the government even though he allowed ministers to just get on with their job.
“The issue he kept some responsibility for was the constitution. Alex Salmond was also a master of detail. Many issues in the paper were fraught and complex with much discussion. The idea that he avoided oversight is simply laughable. Alex was in charge and always on top of matters. Yet again Nicola Sturgeon seeks to rewrite history.“