Scotland's Astronomer Royal has added his voice to a growing chorus of protests against cuts in funding for Glasgow Science Centre.

Professor John Brown yesterday accused the SNP of "blasphemy" over its move to switch subsidies from the Clydeside venue to rival centres in Edinburgh, Dundee, and Aberdeen.

He said many of his students at Glasgow University had first become interested in science after visiting the centre, which opened in 2001.

The Scottish Government, although increasing overall spending on Scotland's four science centres, has reined in funding for Glasgow, which Professor Brown said was the nation's "flagship" facility.

Glasgow, which is far bigger than its sister institutions Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, Sensation in Dundee, and Satrosphere in Aberdeen, has traditionally enjoyed the lion's share of government funding, both in absolute and comparative terms. The Scottish Government claimed its new funding package was "fairer".

Its supporters, however, insist the Glasgow centre does so much more than the other facilities, that it more than deserves its share of funding, currently £1.75m. The figure is to fall 40%, to £1.08m by 2010-2011.

Professor Brown, in a letter to The Herald, writes: "The announcement would have been a blasphemy by any government.

"But such an attack on GSC - Scotland's top science centre and one of the best worldwide - from a government with pretensions of having education, science and technology as priorities is obscene, as is its refusal to discuss the matter properly."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has told the SNP it will "live to regret" cutting funding for Glasgow Science Centre, despite the fact his UK administration does not directly fund such centres, either in Scotland or the rest of the UK. The centre earlier this week said it would shed 28 people and blamed the job losses on the funding cuts.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "We would be very happy to meet with Professor Brown to discuss our shared commitment to boosting science and technology in Scotland."