General Election 2015: Cameron is 'whipping up English nationalism', says Gordon Brown

The former PM also accused the SNP of misleading voters over coalition plans

The former Prime Minister accused the Tories of trying to 'build resentment' between Scotland and England and vice versa (Getty Images)

David Cameron is guilty of “whipping up English nationalism” in an attempt to win the general election for the Conservatives, Gordon Brown has claimed.

The former Labour prime minister told a small group of voters in his home county of Fife that the Tories were purposefully fanning the flames of nationalism on both sides of the border.

“The only way they can win is to build resentment in Scotland of the English and resentment in England of Scots," he is reported to have said.

Mr Brown also accused the SNP of misleading people over the power they could wield in a Labour-led administration at Westminster, adding: “People must realise they are not interested in a Labour government.”

The intervention by Mr Brown, who is not standing as an MP and has so far remained largely silent on Labour’s prospective wipeout in Scotland, carries echoes of his impassioned speeches to preserve the Union ahead of last year’s independence referendum.

He told the audience of less than 100 people that only a Labour government would “immediately deal with food bank poverty, zero hours poverty, inequality and the NHS”, warning that large numbers of SNP MPs could mean “months of constitutional chaos” for the UK.

Mr Brown also criticised the tone of the election campaign so far, saying it had been dominated by talk of “hung parliaments, negotiations, deals”. He said Labour should begin talking about “poverty, inequality, the health service” instead.

Earlier this week, Mr Brown sent a personal letter to around 350,000 Scottish voters urging them to stop the SNP’s rise by voting Labour. Acknowledging that the poll on 7 May was “the tightest and most important general election in generations”, he said protecting the NHS should be the country’s first priority.

The row between the Tories and the SNP continued with Mr Cameron provoking an angry response from the party's former leader Alex Salmond after accusing him of being a pickpocket on live television.

David Cameron appearing on 'This Morning' (ITV)

At the end of an interview with the Prime Minister on ITV’s This Morning, presenter Phillip Schofield said as he moved on to the next item: “Up next, a man who can pinch your wallet, your watch and even your tie without you noticing.” Mr Cameron, who was off camera, was then heard quipping: “Is that Alex Salmond?”

In response, the former Scottish First Minister said: “The Tories have been picking Scotland's pocket for years, and have been well and truly rumbled, which is why David Cameron and the rest of the Westminster gang are sinking like a stone in Scotland.”

Mr Cameron also attacked Mr Salmond by pointing his Twitter followers to a video which showed him joking with activists that he would write Labour’s budget if Ed Miliband won the election and were backed by the SNP.

The Prime Minister wrote: “This footage will shock you: Alex Salmond laughs and boasts he’ll write Labour’s budget. Vote Conservative to stop it.”

Mr Salmond said the footage, taken at an SNP meeting on 13 April, merely showed him making a “light-hearted” remark. “Instead of a few carefully stage managed appearances, David Cameron should try holding a few public meetings and meeting real people – and develop a sense of humour,” he responded.