Labour leader Ed Miliband will attack Alex Salmond today during a speech on the concept of being British.
Addressing the Royal Festival Hall in London this afternoon, he will accuse the SNP leader of offering a ”false choice” between being Scottish and being British, and will insist England and Wales must also pay close attention to the future of the United Kingdom.
He will say: ”In Scotland, the narrow nationalists of the SNP pose a false choice. They ask: are you Scottish or British? I say you can be both, and here in England there are people like Jeremy Clarkson who shrug their shoulders at the prospect of the break-up of the Union.”
With the Olympics also being held in London this summer, Mr Miliband will say it is the perfect time to reflect on British identity.
”Now more than ever, as we make the case for the United Kingdom throughout the United Kingdom, we must talk about England,” he will say.
He will urge his audience to not be ”nervous” to talk about ”English pride and character.”
Mr Salmond has attempted to discourage the waving of the Union flag at royal events in Scotland, claiming earlier this week that the Lion Rampant was more appropriate for such occasions.