JEREMY PAXMAN, the BBC presenter, has reignited the war of words with Labour’s health secretary John Reid by claiming he is part of a “Scottish Raj” now running the country, writes Jason Allardyce.

The Newsnight anchor, who last week clashed with the Glaswegian minister on the programme, has compared the dominance of Scots at Westminster to India’s British imperialist rulers.

Paxman’s remarks come after Reid took offence at the broadcaster’s description of him as Labour’s “attack dog” during a discussion of the government’s record on the National Health Service.

Reid countered: “If you have a PhD and a posh accent from a school like yours, you are regarded as a sophisticate. You called me an attack dog because I’ve got a Glasgow accent.”

Last night the presenter, whose grandmother was born in Glasgow, expressed concern at the growing influence of the “Scottish ruling class” that he believes is dominating public life in England.

A strong Scottish presence at Westminster has been a feature of Tony Blair’s government. Cabinet ministers who are also Scots include Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and Lord Falconer.

“I yield to none in my admiration for (John Reid’s) knowledge and for his strength of character on all sorts of issues so I have no idea why he went so doolally,” said Paxman.

He said it was “entirely bizarre” that some Scots had such a “chip on their shoulder” about their nationality. “I mean, down here we live under a sort of Scottish Raj . . . I don’t see why there is any reason for them to feel chippy. Do we complain about it? No we don’t. I think it’s absurd. I don’t understand wherein lies this angst.”

Reid is the latest in a line of politicians to claim that English people criticise them because of their Scottish working-class origins. Friends of Michael Martin, the Commons Speaker, say he regards critics of his conduct as Establishment snobs.

His detractors say their criticisms are based on a series of misjudgments by Martin.

It is not just Paxman who has his knife sharpened for Reid. It has emerged that the health secretary has upset Labour’s election chiefs in the past fortnight on a number of fronts in what is seen as his bid to succeed Tony Blair.

He is at loggerheads with Alan Milburn, the party’s election co-ordinator, over how far Labour’s manifesto should promise to extend private provision in the NHS.

Reid has stamped on Milburn’s call for more foundation hospitals and increasing the use of private facilities by the NHS to cut waiting lists.

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