A call was made last night for the Bank of England to be renamed the Bank of the United Kingdom and for United Kingdom banknotes to be introduced as legal tender.

In response to the "clamour to retain the Scottish pound note" by Alex Salmond, Brian Donohoe, Labour MP for Ayrshire, told The Herald that he was launching a campaign for a UK bank and UK notes. "After 300 years of the Act of the Union, UK banknotes are long overdue," he said.

"Bank of the United Kingdom notes would also see an end to confusion over the legality of Scottish tender south and north of the border."

This week, the First Minister voiced fears that Scottish banks might stop issuing their own notes if new regulations put forward by the Treasury get the go-ahead.