Grudge match: Alex Ferguson vs Alex Salmond

By Ian Dunt

Alex Ferguson had a few choice words for Alex Salmond today, amid attempts to limit the role Scots outside the country could have in the independence campaign.

The Manchester United manager donated £501 to the Better Together campaign – one pound more than the self-imposed cap adopted by pro-independence group Yes Scotland has imposed on donations from Scots living outside Scotland.

"Eight-hundred-thousand Scots, like me, live and work in other parts of the United Kingdom. We don't live in a foreign country; we are just in another part of the family of the UK," Ferguson said.

"Scots living outside Scotland but inside the UK might not get a vote in the referendum, but we have a voice and we care deeply about our country. It is quite wrong of the man who is supposed to be leader of Scotland to try and silence people like this.

"I played for Scotland and managed the Scotland team. No-one should question my Scottishness just because I live south of the border."

Better Together is lobbying the SNP government to accept higher spending limits in the crucial period four months before the vote.

As things stand, the limit is likely to be set at £750,000, significantly below the £1.5 million suggested by the Electoral Commission.