Nicola Sturgeon has warned the unfolding financial crisis gripping the UK could end up being worse than the banking crash of 2008.
The First Minister told MSPs today that it would be ordinary people who would pay the price of the disastrous mini-budget announced by Kwasi Kwarteng last week.
The SNP leader said there was an "inevitability" that interest rates would sharply rise in the coming weeks - which would have a "profound effect" on Scots families with mortgages and credit card debt.
Speaking at Holyrood's convener's committee, she called on the UK Government to scrap its plans to slash income tax for the wealthiest in a bid to reassure the global financial markets.
It comes as Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng face demands to recall the House of Commons in an attempt to calm markets following the chaos unleashed by the Chancellor’s mini-budget.
The Bank of England was forced to take emergency action, buying up long-term Government bonds because of a “material risk to UK financial stability”, while the International Monetary Fund urged the Chancellor to change course.
The Chancellor is due to address the Tory conference in Birmingham on Monday but faces calls to speak to the nation before that.
Sturgeon told MSPs: "I don't think it is possible to overstate the damage of this budget to what we're trying to do in terms of tackling poverty and inequality.
"The UK, as we speak, is in the midst of an unfolding and rapidly deteriorating economic and financial crisis. It's going to be ordinary people that pay the price of that.
"I don't think we have had a more serious situation, possibly even including 2008 - which was a global financial cash - but in the UK, probably not a more serious situation in our memories."
Sturgeon warned the collapse in the value of the pound "will fuel inflation and that will make the cost of living crisis worse".
She added: "There is now an inevitability there will be a sharp rise in interest rates - which is going to have a very profound effect on those mortgages and those with credit card debt - and that will push more people into very serious financial stress."
"We've had warnings in the last 24 hours from the IMF, and we have had the quite extraordinary intervention from the Bank of England, who are concerned about serious financial instability. There is speculation that pension funds are about to fall over.
"To have the Bank of England staging an emergency intervention - not to respond to some external shock or global event - but to try and reduce the damage of the UK Government's own policies, it really is extraordinary.
"I do think there needs to be very urgent and immediate action taken. I don't think we should see the policies announced on Friday as inevitable. The decision to abolish the top rate of tax should be reversed."
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