Gordon Brown was last night urged by the Conservatives at Westminster to make clear publicly where he stands on the Scottish Constitutional Commission's "love-in"

about giving more powers to Holyrood.

The SNP claimed it was now clear the Prime Minister did not support it.

As the three Unionist parties in Scotland are soon to meet in Edinburgh to flesh out the details of the new commission, including who will chair it, pressure is growing on the Prime Minister to say where he stands on the issue.

Thus far, Mr Brown has only said there should be a "debate" about giving the Scottish Parliament more powers.

While his colleagues north of the border, led by Wendy Alexander, believe more home rule is the only political show in town to counter the SNP's call for independence, those south of the border are wary that senior Scottish Labour figures are too readily dancing to Alex Salmond's Nationalist tune.

Yesterday Des Browne, the Scottish Secretary, when quizzed about the commission, said: "It is undoubtedly the case that the ball is in the UK Government's court in this regard and it is being invited through that process - that started off with informal meetings and then with the motion in the Scottish Parliament - to become engaged in this and it is considering its position and I have told those people who are involved in this that we will give them an answer soon and we will give them an answer in government terms."

Last night Ben Wallace, the Tories' shadow deputy Scottish secretary, challenged the PM to say where he stood.

The Lancaster MP, who used to be an MSP for North- East Scotland, told The Herald: "The one party which has not made its position clear on fiscal autonomy for Scotland is Westminster Labour.

"We know what Wendy Alexander thinks, we know what the other parties and the Scottish Tories think but we don't know what Gordon Brown and his colleagues in London think."