THE exclusive proliferation of defence and intelligence agencies in England has created an imbalance in security decision making in the UK, according to academics.

The independence debate has highlighted a lack of political, academic and policy scrutiny of security in Scotland which must be addressed regardless of the outcome of the referendum, a team led by Edinburgh University security expert Dr Andrew Neal has found.

Dr Neal is convening seminars, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, to discuss the prospect of independence or the implications for continuing devolution with UK security policymakers currently encroaching on devolved areas.

First Minister Alex Salmond's ex-adviser on referendums Stephen Tierney, now advising the Scottish Parliament's Referendum Bill Committee, will contribute to the study.

Dr Neal said: "Security governance is already encroaching beyond the reserved matters of defence and foreign policy and becoming part of everyday governance at multiple levels of government.

"Currently there is no security think-tank network for Scottish policymakers as there is in London like the Royal United Services Institute or Chatham House.

"Academic security expertise exists across Scotland but has few links with the Scottish institutions of government.

"All of the UK's security services are based in England. All the UK Government centres of security policymaking are based in Westminster. All scrutiny and oversight bodies with an interest in security are based in London.

"The seminar series will invite policymakers, politicians, practitioners and academics from Scotland, the UK and comparator countries to address this imbalance."

The seminars,from September through to 2015, will explore the potentially different security priorities of Scotland and the UK and whether they can be separated in a highly integrated British Isles.