Further Scottish devolution 'now inevitable'

David Cameron told ITV News this week the Conservative Party would guarantee Scotland further devolved powers in the event of a 'no' vote in September's independence referendum.

Speaking to ITV Borders Political Editor Peter MacMahon, the Prime Minister said the recommendations of an upcoming independent commission would give "substantial" powers beyond those currently enjoyed by the Scottish parliament.

"All of the parties backing the United Kingdom - Labour, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives - are saying in our own ways that if there is a 'no' vote [...] that opens the door for further devolution."

*Watch: David Cameron's full interview *

Further devolution of powers to Scotland is "now inevitable" if voters choose to stay in the union, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said.

Speaking on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show, Mr Clegg said there is "an emerging and hardening consensus among the mainstream parties" in favour of greater powers for Holyrood.

He added that he wanted the Liberal Democrats "to act as the guarantor in any future government of further devolution to Scotland".

Read: Scotland 'better protected inside the United Kingdom'

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's speech will focus on the economic, legal, scientific and sporting achievements of Scotland as part of the UK.

"Over the last three centuries, we've worked together, lived together and faced the world together. " He is expected to say tomorrow in his speech.

"We've created some of the most respected and enduring institutions in the world - our welfare state, the Royal Society and Edinburgh Festival.

"And whether it's Adam Smith laying the foundations of our modern economy; our lawyers leading on the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; our scientists working together to discover life-saving drugs like penicillin; again and again, we've blazed a trail."

More: Scotland 'better protected in the UK'

Scotland needs the security of being part of the United Kingdom to best protect itself from organised crime, economic shocks and terrorism, according to the Deputy Prime Minister.

Nick Clegg will set out "the positive economic case for Scotland remaining in the United Kingdom and the European Union" in a speech to the Scottish Chambers of Commerce in Edinburgh tomorrow.