The man who dared raise the "Scottish Question" most recently with Gordon Brown yesterday insisted he was not falling for venomous Metropolitan tabloid myths.

Graham Brady, the MP for Altrincham and Sale West, used Prime Minister's Questions to ask: "Why should my constituents pay more tax so that yours pay no prescription charges?" Last night, he told The Herald he was aware Scotland did not currently have free prescription charges and that it just had a desire to have them. Mr Brady, a professed Unionist, argued that it was not his party but Labour, which had embarked on an ill-thought-out devolution project, which was to blame for the current "imbalance".

The back bencher insisted that there was now "a growing sense of frustration south of the border" at the injustices within the system and, despite the figures published in The Herald today, he was adamant that "it is not a myth that public spending is considerably higher in Scotland than in England, around £1500" per person per year.

When The Herald pointed out the region of the UK he represents received far more public money than it paid in tax - and far more than Scotland - Mr Brady replied: "I find that very improbable."