Prime Minister David Cameron came much closer than was previously known to ordering his own Westminster-led independence referendum in Scotland.
A UK Government source has told the Press and Journal that a “wobble” by coalition ministers left them on the brink of legislating for a vote to decide Scotland’s future.
According to the source, former Scottish Secretary Michael Moore was at one stage a lone voice in the Cabinet arguing against the controversial move.
UK ministers are thought to have struggled to decide a strategy after the SNP’s 2011 election victory made an independence referendum all but inevitable.
In January 2012, Mr Cameron set the coalition’s course when he announced that he would work with the Scottish Government to deliver a “legal, fair and decisive” referendum, to be led by Holyrood, if certain conditions could be agreed.
Mr Moore is understood to have had behind-the-scenes battles with several senior Cabinet colleagues who had become convinced that they should be taking charge of the vote.
It is thought he feared the move would provoke a backlash against the pro-UK camp, and might even allow the SNP to call for a boycott of the vote.
A Downing Street source did not deny that a Westminster-led referendum was given serious consideration.
“Of course I don’t doubt that each and every option was looked at,” he said. “Officials may have drawn up options.
“The only way I think that could have been pursued would have been if the Scottish Government wouldn’t play ball.”
The source added that, if Mr Cameron had not offered to give Holyrood the powers to hold the vote, there might not be a referendum this year.
“I’ve heard people suggest that if we hadn’t taken that decision we wouldn’t be having a referendum in this parliament, because the Scottish Parliament didn’t have the powers,” he said.
“The boss (Mr Cameron) decided ‘let’s get this done’. There was a ‘bring it on’ moment.”
Mr Moore, who could not be contacted last night, was replaced as Scottish secretary by fellow Liberal Democrat Alistair Carmichael in October last year.
Angus Robertson, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said: “The UK Government’s panic over the referendum result clearly goes back further than we previously thought.
“It is extraordinary that David Cameron came close to trampling all over Scotland’s democratic process of legislating for the referendum.”