A senior Catholic figure in Scotland is using the hotly contested Glasgow East by-election to push a controversial anti-government message in the apparent hope that voters will punish it for defying the church.

Controversial Scottish Catholic leader Keith O'Brien, accused of making intemperate and inaccurate remarks over the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, has vowed to keep the pressure on PM Gordon Brown.

Protestant and Catholic church leaders in Scotland have renewed their criticism on Britain’s post-Trident nuclear weapons plans and have called for a major non-proliferation effort.