Anger at advice to stop oil claim

North Sea oil began pumping from the middle of 1975

Nationalists have hit out after documents from the 1970s revealed strategies to stop Scotland laying claim to North Sea oil.

The Whitehall briefings suggest delaying a referendum on devolution and redrawing the boundaries of Scotland's coastal waters.

First Minister Alex Salmond condemned what the SNP called "deceit and desperation" by UK governments.

Labour said the views had not been its policy and it had delivered devolution.

Billions of barrels of oil have been pumped from the North Sea since 1975 and experts believe between 25 and 30 billion barrels could still be recovered over the next 40 years.

The documents obtained by the Times newspaper indicate there were proposals to prevent Scotland laying claim to the North Sea reserves in the event of independence.

We now see a UK Government dragging Scotland into recession and cutting Scotland's funding to pay for their record levels of debt Stewart HosieSNP Treasury spokesman

It quotes extracts from a paper written in 1975 by Sir David Walker, the then Assistant Secretary at the Treasury.

Sir David said that "progress toward devolution should be delayed for as long as possible", despite a referendum being a Labour manifesto commitment at the time.

Advisors also suggested the boundaries of Scotland's coastal waters should be redrawn and a new sector created to "neutralise" Scotland's claim.

One official even proposed a local campaign for independence in Orkney and Shetland in order to split territorial claims to oil production.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "These papers are proof positive of the bad faith of successive UK Governments - Labour and Tory - in depriving Scotland of access to our own North Sea resources for nakedly political reasons."

SNP Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie said: "The UK Government has conspired to keep Scotland from her oil wealth and her independence for over 30 years.

There is a Scottish Parliament, delivered by Labour, and Orkney and Shetland remain integral parts of Scotland Michael ConnartyLabour MP

"These new revelations of plots and plans to change the border, delay devolution and manipulate the position of Shetland and Orkney expose the lengths to which successive UK Government's have gone."

Sir David Walker is currently investigating the banking crisis and bonus payments for the UK Government.

Mr Hosie added: "Where we now see a UK Government dragging Scotland into recession and cutting Scotland's funding to pay for their record levels of debt, Norway's oil fund is worth over