DEVOLUTION has fostered extreme nationalism and anti-English hatred and turned Scotland into a “strange land”, according to Lord Lamont of Lerwick.

The former Conservative chancellor, who was born in the Shetland Islands, claims there has been a marked rise in anti-English racism since 1999. He believes this has resulted in a backlash south of the border that threatens the future of the union.

Lamont’s intervention follows claims made by Jeremy Paxman, the BBC Newnight presenter who claimed that the people of England are being forced to live under “a Scottish Raj”.

Paxman’s comments to The Sunday Times last week were described as “insulting, outdated and snobbish” by MPs who have demanded that he apologise.

While Labour claims that devolution was intended to preserve the union, Lamont believes that it has driven the member countries further apart.

“What strikes me is that this sort of feeling in Ireland, where I go a bit, has diminished whereas in Scotland it seems, if anything, to have increased,” he said. “I am not a great enthusiast for devolution, to put it mildly, but I thought that maybe with devolution this would diminish. I don’t think it has.

“Perhaps it is because, when it fails to deliver what people expected or hoped for, they say the parliament has not got enough powers or the Scottish executive has not got enough money.

“These were fears that were voiced before devolution happened — that it would exacerbate tensions — and I think some of these arguments have proved to have force.”

Lamont, who was chancellor from 1990-93 when John Major’s administration was coming under pressure to deliver devolution, says he too has been the victim of anti-English abuse because he does not speak with a strong Scottish accent.

He believes that anti- racism legislation should be enforced more effectively to protect English people who encounter racial abuse in Scotland and that politicians must campaign against it.

“I have had letters from the public asking why isn’t racial legislation enforced against anti-English sentiment in Scotland and Wales.

“What I find distressing is this rather vicious Scottish expression of nationalism — there is nothing wrong with constitutional nationalism, of course — which is producing a backlash in England.

“Just as you have the St Andrew’s flag much more in evidence in sporting events, now you have the St George’s flag. I am sure it is a direct response to that. Now people are saying why can’t we have an English parliament and it’s difficult to deny the logic of it.”

Lamont visits Scotland once or twice a year and claims to notice a deterioration every time. “I am Scottish, I feel Scottish and I think of myself as Scottish but every time I come to Scotland I think this place is becoming stranger.”

Times Recommends

• UK regional accents thrive against the odds
• ‘Scarecrow’ wind farms put rare birds to flight
• What an anti-climax: G-spot is a myth