Tony Blair says that all inward investment to Scotlnad, Enland and Wales will NOT be dictated by the Department of Trade and Industry in London.

Civil servants in the Scottish Office and the Department of Trade and Industry have been in discussions for some time and it had dawned on officials that the DTi could have forced investors away from Scotland by exerting its financial muscle.

Scottish Office sources insist such an agreement on the ground rules is essential, even after the Home Rule settlement.

"If we got into a bidding war then and they (the DTi) pulled out all the stops, they could sink us," says one source. "They've got bigger guns and more money."

This whole affair stinks, it is a similar set of promises that London backed out of time and again in the 1700's. They promised fair trade and then only partially implemented it.

Whats nearer the truth is that the Scottish education system, communications infrastructure and location relative to much of Europe gives Scotland an advantage with our European trading partners.

As it did in the past, England now wants to level the playing field i.e. interfere with Scottish investments and control the market for their own benefit.