HENRY McLeish, the former First Minister, has been branded "misguided" after he suggested David Cameron was more hated in Scotland than Margaret Thatcher.

The ex-Labour MSP claimed the Prime Minister was undermining the Better Together campaign and that his posh image and damaging policies epitomised everything that Scots hated about the Conservatives.

"Cameron is the big risky factor for the Unionist camp. He won't be seen much in Scotland," declared Mr McLeish, who described Tory policies as being viewed in Scotland as "quite poisonous" and from an "alien political culture".

"He has got to take less of a role and I am convinced that he will be forced to take less of a role," he insisted.

"Cameron also brings that edge that even Thatcher didn't bring: the rich, posh image. Osborne is the same...They also exude this political distance so much that I would expect for Scots that Cameron is a much scarier figure than Margaret Thatcher ever was."

He added: "If we get to September 2014 and there is a high likelihood that the Tories, because the economy is recovering, are doing well, that could actually push a lot of people into the lines for voting Yes."

However, one Coalition source branded Mr McLeish "misguided", noting: "You sometimes have to wonder which side Henry is really on. This sort of thing will only help the Nationalists."

Another Whitehall insider argued that the analysis was flawed, pointing to a recent poll which showed more than half of Scots had a positive view of Mr Cameron.