UK minister backs Lottery concern

Mr Murphy insisted his new government job was a full-time one

The UK Government's new Scottish Secretary has suggested more could be done over the issue of Lottery funding being diverted to the London Olympics.

Jim Murphy said the Glasgow Commonwealth Games had to leave a legacy to last a generation.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has said the 2012 Olympics would cost good causes in Scotland £150m.

Mr Murphy also told BBC Scotland he took his new government post on the condition it was on a full-time basis.

The position of Scottish secretary was combined with defence under Mr Murphy's predecessor, Des Browne, who left government in Gordon Brown's reshuffle.

It's too big a job at too important a time to be job-sharing the secretary of state for Scotland Jim Murphy Scottish secretary

Mr Murphy, MP for East Renfrewshire, said concerns over Scotland's share of Lottery cash was a big issue, telling BBC Scotland's Politics Show: "I'd like to see what more can be done."

The former Europe minister said: "We have to make sure that in the East end of Glasgow, in particular, but not just there, there is a lasting legacy."

Mr Murphy also said combining Scottish affairs and Defence into one post had not worked.

"Scotland needs a full-time voice round the cabinet table," he said.

"I'm not going to go into the details about the reshuffle about who said what to whom, but I was very clear to the prime minister - I want to do this job, this was the one job in government I wanted to do, but I didn't want to do it while running another government department.

"It's too big a job at too important a time to be job-sharing the secretary for state for Scotland."

Mr Murphy said he hoped to forge a close relationship with Mr Salmond, working closely on issues where the SNP and Labour governments agreed, while seeking to "minimise differences".