Scots should back England - Blair

Tony Blair said he strongly supported England

Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the BBC he thinks Scots should support England in the World Cup.

Mr Blair's comments are at odds with First Minister Jack McConnell who said people should be "relaxed" about him not supporting England in Germany.

He said he represented Scotland and he did not link politics with football.

But Mr Blair said neighbours should support each other and he was "irritated" by the attitude that people should "detest" the opposition.

The prime minister, whose parents were brought up in Scotland and who was born in Edinburgh and went to school there, said: "I support England very strongly, of course I do.

"But if Scotland was playing a match against someone else - not if they were playing against England - why take the attitude that you don't want Scotland to win, when they are part of the UK?

'Relax' appeal

"Of course you should want Scotland to win. It is the same with the Scots and the English."

Last month the first minister told BBC Scotland said he was looking forward to smaller teams causing an upset or two in Germany.

He said: "Football is a sport, people should be relaxed about this. Some will back England, some will not.

"I'm in the second camp, I'm doing that because I'll enjoy the small teams giving the big teams a beating from time to time over the course of the next month."