The First Minister has taken to Twitter to defend the findings of the SNP's Growth Commission.

Nicola Sturgeon said the publication of the long-awaited report last week had provoked "lots of interesting comments", but added that some of them needed addressing.

The commission set out proposals to grow the Scottish economy in the wake of Brexit and in the context of independence in a 354-page report.

It aimed to show how an independent Scotland could match the growth levels of the some of the world's most successful small economies within a generation.

Critics of the report have included some prominent supporters of Scottish independence, with concern over proposals to continue using the pound informally after independence and to embark on a programme of deficit reduction.

Former SNP MP George Kerevan has dubbed the commission's findings "conservative", while Robin McAlpine, director of pro-independence think tank Common Weal, says austerity is "baked in" to the report.

But the First Minister argued the commission "explicitly rejects austerity" and recommends above-inflation spending increases for the budgets of a prospective independent Scotland.

Opposition parties said Sturgeon's defence of the report on social media was "desperate".

Chaired by former SNP MSP Andrew Wilson, the Sustainable Growth Commission was announced by the First Minister in 2016.

Its report, Scotland: The New Case For Optimism, is the party's most significant contribution to the independence debate since the 2014 referendum.

Writing for the website CommonSpace, McAlpine said the proposal for an independent Scotland to continue using the pound informally for an undefined period of time - known as "sterlingisation" - would mean ceding monetary policy to the UK and leaving the country's finances in hock to financial markets.

The report, he wrote, "suggests we simply don't have enough collective spine to take control of our own key policy levers".

Kerevan, former MP for East Lothian, claimed the sterling proposal "sticks to the very currency option that helped defeat the independence proposition back in 2014".

He wrote in The National: "The broader Yes movement - including most SNP members I would venture - will not knock on doors for sterling."

Scottish Labour, meanwhile, has branded the report a "Cuts Commission" and said its proposals would result in "another decade of austerity" if enacted.

The First Minister used Twitter on Wednesday to defend the report against some of the criticisms it has faced.

She wrote: "Reading lots of interesting comments about the Growth Commission - which is good.

"So much better to be discussing how to build a successful independent Scotland than just resigning ourselves to managing the decline of Brexit UK.

"A few points worth underlining though...

"The report explicitly rejects austerity eg Part B p44 - 'Scotland should explicitly reject the austerity model pursued by the U.K. in recent years' and recommends above inflation spending growth each year.

"A marked contrast to the failed Westminster approach."

Sturgeon continued: "Report also stresses importance of investment to boost economy and that fiscal targets should not be at the expense of growth - another sharp contrast with Westminster.

"Indeed, it recommends fiscal stimulus both in the independence transition and in periods of low growth.

"The report's projections about deficit reduction are deliberately cautious.

"They make no assumptions about higher growth - and instead illustrate that even in worst case scenario independence is a better option that sticking with Westminster system that created the deficit but with the powers of independence and by following report's advice on how we can match the success of other small countries - particularly its recommendations on population - higher growth, more revenue and increased prosperity and fairness is the attainable prize."

She concluded: "So we have a choice - stay as we are, locked into the Brexit spiral and continued austerity that the Westminster parties offer no alternative to - or decide to equip ourselves with the powers to build our way to a better future.

"Lastly, policy choices in an independent Scotland will always be for the government of the day, so we should welcome debate - but without independence, these choices will always be far too limited."

Responding to Sturgeon's social media defence of the report, Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said: "This is a visibly desperate move by the First Minister, who's clearly been rattled by the furious reaction of hardcore independence evangelists in recent days.

"But, as is so often the case when Nicola Sturgeon takes Donald Trump's lead on tweeting, the content is dubious.

"This report made abundantly clear that a separate Scotland is likely to bring nothing other than economic hard times.

"The authors accepted this, perhaps Scotland's First Minister should too.

"After all, in establishing her commission, she created the beast which has now turned to bite her."

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard added: "The SNP promised a Growth Commission, but Nicola Sturgeon has found herself defending a Cuts Commission.

"The people of Scotland cannot afford another decade of austerity.

"Scotland has over a quarter of a million children living in poverty and pensioner poverty has increased by 33% since 2010. We do not want another decade of austerity.

"Labour would invest to grow our economy."