Gordon Brown was last night accused by the SNP of �dithering� over his stance on whether or not the Scottish Parliament should have more tax powers.

Gordon Brown was last night accused by the SNP of "dithering" over his stance on whether or not the Scottish Parliament should have more tax powers.

Last week, when the Prime Minister addressed the Scottish CBI in Glasgow, his words were widely interpreted as signalling that he was now firmly behind the proposal for giving Holyrood more powers on raising money, having previously been firmly opposed to it.

Mr Brown told business leaders that while he was a stronger defender of the Union, they should not confuse this with "unthinking opposition to change and development in how our Union governs itself".

He then said: "Devolution has worked, but I do see one problem. While there have been good reasons why this is so, the Scottish Parliament is wholly accountable for the budget it spends but not for the size of its budget. And that budget is not linked to the success of the Scottish economy.

"That is why we asked the (Calman) Commission to look carefully at the financial accountability of the Scottish Parliament and this is a critical part of Calman's remit."

A spokesman for First Minister Alex Salmond welcomed Mr Brown's words and claimed he was "caving into pressure from the SNP and the people of Scotland".

Yesterday, at his regular No 10 press conference, the PM told reporters: "We await the Calman Commission report and in the light of that, make our decisions."

Last night an SNP spokesman said: "This is classic Brown dithering," adding: "The Prime Minister just can't decide where he stands on the issue of tax-raising powers for the Scottish Parliament from one day to the next."

Last night, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott told The Herald: "The Prime Minister flew a kite in Glasgow last week and has now pulled it back in. The Labour Party need to decide whether they support a strengthened Scotland in the UK - as the Liberal Democrats do - or do they just stand for the status quo. It would appear Gordon Brown is a status quo man."

Angus Robertson, the Nationalist leader at Westminster, accused Mr Brown of a "flip flop", saying it was "another extraordinary display of dithering" by the PM. Only last Thursday it was a case of bring it on' for more powers for the Scottish Parliament but today he backtracked."