Scots could be barred from serving as health or education secretary at Westminster under proposals from a former Conservative leadership candidate.

John Redwood also suggested there may have to be a new position created of First Minister of England.

The Tory MP has called for an "English Parliament" to sit in the House of Commons if Scots vote against independence next month.

David Cameron's pledge Scotland will have greater tax-raising powers after a No vote has only made the case more urgent, he argues.

After a speech outlining the plans on Tuesday night, he said a "new voice" for England was needed.

He added: "There would be all sorts of consequential questions, which I don't want to make clear statements on tonight …

"Would there be a First Minister? Would there be any restrictions on MPs from other parts of the UK taking on roles within the English government?

"I think you would find that as soon as there was a body of English business, clearly defined English business, then there would be English voices."

John Reid, the former Labour MP for Airdrie and Shotts, served as Health Secretary between 2003 and 2005. Under Mr Redwood's proposal, Mr Reid would have been precluded from taking on the role.

Advocates of a bar on Scottish MPs taking such a role argue the jobs mainly deals with the English NHS.

But opponents warns that issues that affect Scotland, such as abortion law, come under its auspices.

Labour have warned that an English Parliament at Westminster would leave politicians who represent Scottish constituencies as "second-class MPs". The party has also questioned how easy it would be to identify "English-only" laws.

An analysis by Tom Greatrex, the Labour MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, last year highlighted the difficulty identifying legislation which affects only England.

It found only a handful of bills over the past 10 years would have been affected.