THE Free Church of Scotland last night accused Professor Richard Dawkins of "astounding arrogance" after the writer claimed it would "not look good on his CV" to take part in a debate with a minister on Lewis.

Mr Dawkins is due to appear at Faclan, the Hebridean Book Festival, in November, where he is scheduled to promote his book, The God Delusion.

There had been calls for a boycott from a member of the Lord's Day Observance Society but Free Church ministers preferred to challenge him to a public debate instead.

Yesterday it appeared Mr Dawkins had turned down the debate invitation, posting on Twitter: "As a great president of the Royal Society said 'That would look great on your CV, not so good on mine'."

The Reverend David Robertson, Free Church minister in Dundee, accused Prof Dawkins of "astounding arrogance".

He said the professor believed he was above lesser mortals, adding: "His soundbite atheism does not stand up to scrutiny.

"He seems to think he is so great that anyone who challenges him is only trying to be famous."

The Herald was unable to contact Mr Dawkins yesterday.