THE SNP have published 10 questions they want Michael Gove to answer on how his government spent Covid funds on research about attitudes to the Union.

It comes as pressure mounts on the Prime Minister to launch a public inquiry into the spending of emergency pandemic cash following revelations that the Cabinet Office Minister instructed officials to extend Covid contracts to polling on the constitution.

Last week it was reported a £560,000 publicly funded contract was given to Public First – which has close links to the Tory party. It was then extended on the orders of Gove to include Union attitude research.

Court documents seen by the Herald show an urgent request to test attitudes to the Union was made by Gove’s office.

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High Court judge Justice O’Farrell ruled that a decision to award the contract to Public First – run by close allies of Gove and Cummings – “gave rise to apparent bias and was unlawful”.

The judge said a failure to consider other firms could be seen as suggesting a “real danger” of bias.

The paper said the request was made under the cover of the Covid-19 contract given to Public First, which was meant to inform “vital” advice to shape the UK Government’s pandemic response.

It reported that in July last year services provided by Public First under a £560,000 Covid pandemic contract were extended to cover what was described as “qualitative research into EU exit topics and themes, re-building the economy following the Covid-19 crisis and attitudes to the UK Union”.

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Ahead of Gove’s visit to Scotland today, the SNP’s Westminster leader has published 10 key questions for the Cabinet Office minister.

They are:

1. Did the Prime Minister approve your decision to use a £560,000 emergency Covid contract to conduct constitutional campaigning on the Union?

2. Who did you share the polling results with? Will you publish these results in full?

3. Were the devolved governments informed of your decision to conduct polling into attitudes towards the Union with emergency Covid contracts?

4. Was the Secretary of State for Scotland aware you were using an emergency Covid contract for polling on attitudes towards the Union?

5. What additional taxpayer funds have been used for political research during the pandemic?

6. Was your “urgent” order in July 2020 to extend the emergency Covid contract to carry out polling on the Union a reaction to the Sunday Times report that support for both the SNP and Scottish independence jumped to the highest level recorded by a Panelbase poll?

7. Following the humiliation of the High Court case, will you now commit to a full public inquiry on this gross misuse of public money?

8. As a government minister you have a responsibility and duty to spend public money in the public interest. Will you now take responsibility for your complete failure and apologise?

9. Emails released during High Court proceedings show you lobbied for Public First. This biased and unlawful behaviour is a clear breach of the ministerial code. Why have you not referred yourself to the government’s independent adviser on ministerial interests, Lord Geidt?

10. Will you cooperate with Cabinet Secretary Simon Case so a full departmental investigation can be carried out on unlawful behaviour in the Cabinet Office?

Ian Blackford said: “Boris Johnson’s Tory government is stumbling from one scandal to the next. Johnson’s premiership is driven by rampant cronyism and sleaze.

“Revelations that Tory ministers directed emergency Covid contracts and public funds for their own political campaigning and gain are utterly damning.

“Despite the government’s best attempts to play this down, the reality is that this scandal will not disappear.

“There are very serious questions for the Prime Minister and Cabinet Office Minister to answer over how they siphoned off public money for their own political purposes.

“Following my letter to the Prime Minister over the weekend, I have now set out clear questions that Michael Gove – who instructed officials to conduct political research – has to answer.

“There must be accountability. If the Tory government genuinely believes it has nothing to hide or that it has done nothing wrong, then the Cabinet Office Minister will set the record straight and the Prime Minister will commit to a full public inquiry.

“Our efforts in the middle of this deadly pandemic must be on saving lives – not channelling public money towards political campaigning.

“It’s clear beyond any doubt that the broken Westminster system isn’t working in Scotland’s interests. Scotland can do so much better.

“Only by becoming an independent country will we be able to put Scotland’s interests first and secure a real and fair recovery from this pandemic.”

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “Any suggestion that the Government carries out party-political research or polling is entirely false.

“Strengthening the Union and levelling up in every part of the UK are government priorities, and we regularly undertake research to support policy development.

“The judgment in this case makes clear that there was no suggestion of actual bias and that the decision to award the contract was not due to any personal or professional connections.”