BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty sparked a row this morning after claiming Scotland “wouldn’t get anything” if it wasn’t part of the Union.

During an interview with SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford the host brought up funding from the UK Government, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to talk about during his Scottish trip today in efforts to promote the Union.

Munchetty referenced the UK Government’s furlough scheme, as well as the Islands Growth Deal announced ahead of Johnson’s trip. The UK Government announced £100 million to “transform” Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles – with £50m coming from Holyrood and Westminster.

Blackford then gave an example of a growth deal which the Scottish Government has put more cash into than Westminster. The Falkirk deal is a £90m project of which the majority £50m share is coming from Holyrood.

Munchetty then interrupted the MP to say: “You wouldn’t get anything if you weren’t part of the Union though would you?”

Blackford was taken aback by the presenter’s comment. He replied: “Ah well, you know. I think people might want to reflect on a comment such as that.

"That kind of flies into the rhetoric we get from the Tories that we are too wee, too poor, and too stupid.

"If you look at the economic success of Ireland, of Denmark, of Norway, I think we would do pretty well as an independent country.

"If we had control and the ability, we would be able to grow our country and to take account of the climate challenge we face."

The presenter’s name was trending on Twitter this morning as independence supporters expressed anger over the comment.

The BBC declined to comment.

Munchetty’s line of questioning comes weeks after BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg was  criticised for similar comments. She was accused of “parroting Tory attack lines” during a Politics Live episode.

READ MORE: BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg accused of ‘repeating mistakes of 2014’

Host Jo Coburn said both Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson had claimed “no nationalist can ignore” that the furlough scheme “has only been possible because we are a United Kingdom”.

Kuenssberg responded: “It was interesting that Rishi Sunak mentioned that in a very full-throated way, almost right at the beginning of his statement. Perhaps that’s a response to what we’ve seen … quite a notable trend in the polling numbers on Scottish independence during this crisis where we’ve seen what is normally a very narrow majority in the polling against independence. That seems to have switched in the last couple of months while the governments in Edinburgh and Westminster have been handling the various aspects.

“I think that is something we’re probably going to see more of from the Government actually … a full-throated, using any occasion perhaps to chuck in a reminder about the fact that the Treasury acts on behalf of the whole UK.

She continued: “And of course if Scotland was an economy on its own, it might have more trouble potentially being able to raise cash in the way that the UK Government has been able to do with the Bank of England as the lender of last resort.”

Keith Brown, the SNP’s depute leader, said: “Here we go again, the BBC is repeating its mistakes of 2014. Why oh why can’t the BBC just give a balanced analysis on Scotland? In the Westminster bubble, it’s escaped the BBC’s attention that support for independence has been rising ever since Brexit – and that there’s been a majority in favour for a sustained period.

“So rather than parrot lazy Tory lines, perhaps the BBC should explore and analyse why this is happening. The BBC will blow all trust with its viewers and listeners in Scotland if they carry on failing to provide any balance in its coverage from Westminster.”

A BBC spokesperson said Kuenssberg was “providing impartial analysis” of the Chancellor’s statement. “That is her job as the BBC’s Political Editor,” they added.