As the row over a referendum for Scottish independence continues, the prime minister has said he will do "whatever is necessary" to preserve the United Kingdom.

Gordon Brown used an interview in the Sunday Telegraph to call on political parties and businesses to work together to preserve.

He backed Wendy Alexander, who said recently that there should be an immediate referendum on independence, describing her as an "excellent leader of Labour in the Scottish parliament".

Brown insisted Alexander had been exposing a breach in the SNP's manifesto pledge, but Conservative leader David Cameron said he had "lost control" of the Scottish Labour Party.

Brown said he was personally "not persuaded" of the case for a poll.

"I will do anything and everything to ensure that the case for the Union, which has served Britain and the British people so well, is properly heard and advanced," he added.

"I want all unionist parties and all parts of business - employers, managers and trade unions - to work together not only to push the case for the Union but to expose the dangers of separation.

"Some issues are bigger than politics and need to be addressed in the common interest."

He also accused the SNP of a "transparent attempt to manipulate the political system for purely partisan political purposes".