Scottish Labour grandee Tam Dalywell calls on MPs to show courage and vote against Brexit

Former MP says House of Commons should 'have some guts and less cowardice'

Sir Tam Dalywell says people did not understand what they were voting for (BBC)

Leading Scottish Labour grandee Sir Tam Dalyell has called for Parliament to show “courage” and overrule the Brexit vote for the sake of Scottish and English unity.

The former MP said he was “furious” at the result which saw 52 per cent of the UK - but only 38 per cent of Scots - vote to leave the European Union.

The 83-year-old, who coined the phrase “West Lothian question” about Scottish MPs voting on English matters, said the House of Commons should “have some guts and less cowardice” when it came to the future of the UK.

In an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight, Sir Tam said: "People did not understand that they were voting for the end of the single market on which many of their jobs will depend.

"They didn’t understand about immigration and how little could be done about immigration.

"Is this mantra of ‘the will of the people’ taking into account the tumbling pound?"

He said "the mind boggles" at the thought of a formal border between Scotland and England.

It comes as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrived in Brussels to hold discussions with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker about the possibility of Scotland remaining a member of the EU even if the rest of the UK votes to leave.

Mr Juncker said he would listen to Scotland’s case - which is likely to follow the Danish model, where Denmark is in the EU but Danish territories Greenland and the Faroe Islands are not.

Following the result, the SNP leader called for a second referendum on Scottish independence as the country now “faces the prospect of being taken out of the European Union against our will”.