The Scottish nationalists are not intuitively supporters of civil liberties, Alistair Carmichael has claimed.
He said they could be relied on to oppose the abolition of the Human Rights Act.
But, he added, the party’s record in Scotland showed they were not instinctively “promoters” of civil liberties.
Speaking at a fringe event at the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, the Northern Isles MP said it was only his party that could be counted on to stand up in this regard.
He added: “The SNP, I think, we can rely on working with us to oppose the abolition of the Human Rights Act in particular, not least, because of the importance of that act to the constitutional architecture of the UK.
“But look at what they are doing in their own home patch and you will see that the SNP, the nationalists in general, are very far from being intuitive supporters and promoters of civil liberties.”
He pointed to the creation of a single police force, adding: “We all get the one size that is supposed to fit all from the SNP.
“Beyond that they have armed our police for routine public patrol with absolutely no consultation with the public whatsoever.
“Their use of stop and search powers far outstrips anything you will find south of the border.
“So when it comes to civil liberties, who is it the British public can return to and rely on? It’s the people in this party.”
The former Scottish secretary also criticised the UK Government’s approach to counter-extremism, suggesting a better way forward would be to sit down with the various communities so they don’t feel alienated.
“We should be talking to them to see what they feel the challenges they face are, how they feel they can actually build a strategy in which they have some sense of ownership,” he added.