Ex-PM throws his weight behind the No campaign

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said today it made "no sense whatsoever" for Scotland to break its political ties with the rest the United Kingdom.

Speaking to an audience at Glasgow University, Mr Brown said the debate was wrongly portrayed as a choice between Scotland and Britain.

"People are being told you either vote for Scotland, which means you vote Yes, or vote for Britain, which means you vote No. But actually I'm putting forward a vision of Scotland and asking you to vote for my vision of Scotland."

He said there were five positive reasons why it was important for Scotland to be part of the United Kingdom, citing pensions, welfare state funding, healthcare, providing jobs and keeping interest rates low.

Mr Brown argued that pensions have a more secure future if the "risks are spread across the UK" than if Scotland chooses to be an independent nation.

He said the UK system meant Scotland received £425m more a year for pensions than it would do if funding was based purely on population size, with this due to rise over the next 20 years to £700m.

But the Scottish National Party said Mr Brown's comments on pensions were "ludicrous".

Mr Brown also used his speech to attack Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond's suggestion that Scotland could become independent but keep the pound as its national currency. Mr Brown said this would leave Scotland in "a semi-colonial position" with no influence or input in setting interest rates.

Further powers are set to be devolved to the Scottish administration in Holyrood and Labour and other parties are already proposing further devolution, if the Scottish population votes No to independence later this year.

Martin Geissler watched Mr Brown's speech and sent this report.