The Scottish Sun has claimed that First Minister Alex Salmond could be forced to sack the top spin doctor who admitted faking a letter from a leading academic.

Reporting on Saturday that Labour's Hugh Henry has written to head civil servant Sir Peter Housden urging he probe Kevin Pringle's behaviour, the red-top’s political editor, Andrew Nicoll, said: “And if he finds Pringle breached a code of conduct for special advisers, the under-pressure First Minister might face no option but to dismiss him.“

The tabloid reported that Henry, who heads Holyrood's Audit Committee, as saying: "Parliament must be told why such a misleading statement was drafted for the First Minister by his most senior press adviser, who is paid by the taxpayer.

"We need to know whether this is an isolated incident or whether it reflects a wider culture of misrepresentation at the highest level of government."

It quoted an insider as saying: "The code is absolutely clear. It's up to the minister who hired the special adviser to handle matters of discipline. Kevin has already admitted his mistake so there might be no way out."

The move comes after the First Minister apologised to the Scottish Parliament for wrongly saying Prof Matt Qvortrup had endorsed plans for a two-question referendum — independence or devolution with full tax powers — as "clear and reasonable".

Salmond admitted to MSPs: "I gave a response to Parliament which I would like to correct. I believed the words I used were going to be included in a letter to The Times newspaper.”

The Scottish Sun report continues: “Prof Qvortrup, from Cranfield University, welcomed the ‘correction’ — adding: ‘There is no doubt a referendum offering two options for change is perfectly feasible providing certain circumstances are met’."

Prof Qvortrup at one time held a senior academic post at the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.

The tabloid reported a Scottish Government spokesman as saying Sir Peter would respond to Henry "in due course."

Scotland on Sunday also picked up on the issue in its Drumlanrig column yesterday.

The columnist wrote: “The day of Alex Salmond’s apology for misleading Parliament by misquoting the distinguished academic Professor Matt Qvortrup was the most exciting at Holyrood for some time.

“Hacks were beside themselves at the thought that the First Minister would actually be forced into saying sorry – not his favourite word.

“Salmond, as he should have, took full responsibility for his remarks.

“But some journalists couldn’t help but observe that the man who has concocted the offending quotes was Salmond’s chief spinner, Kevin Pringle, the very person first to complain if he feels the SNP has been given a raw deal by quotations that, he thinks, have been taken out of context by the press.”