MPs in England were urged last night to show "self-restraint" after Labour back benchers complained of unfairness that Scots received more public money than the English.

MPs in England were urged last night to show "self-restraint" after Labour back benchers complained of unfairness that Scots received more public money than the English and were able, through devolution, to channel extra funds to health and education.

The appeal came from Jack Straw, Westminster's Justice Secretary in charge of constitutional matters, who warned his English parliamentary colleagues that they were on "very dangerous ground". He launched a withering attack on the Conservatives, who want to ban Scottish MPs from voting on "English-only" issues, saying they were "playing with fire" and would "wreck the Union" if they pursued their policy.

The strong words from Mr Straw illustrate alarm that not only are David Cameron's Conservatives raising the so-called English Question early into a Brown premiership but so are Labour MPs south of the border.

Constitutional problems seem to be piling up for the Premier with Nationalists now in government in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The remarkable Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition in Cardiff has prompted fears of civil war in the Labour Party in Wales with former defence minister Don Touhig, the MP for Islwyn, branding it "suicide" for his party.

Today, The Herald also reports how Lord Sewel, the former Scottish Office minister, wants the controversial Barnett Formula, which sets Scotland's additional public spending based on population, to be scrapped. He says: "Fairness demands the relative expenditure levels of Scotland to the rest of the UK should be based on a new, objective study of relative expenditure needs."

The latest Treasury figures show England receives £6949 in public spending per head while Scotland gets £8414.

Last Tuesday, in his first Commons statement as PM, Mr Brown denounced the opposition's policy of "English votes for English laws", arguing it would create two classes of MP. However, Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University noted how the Prime Minister was trying to find a solution to post- devolutionary "imbalances" by creating ministers and committees for English regions.

"He is at least searching for some way of trying to convince the people of England they are perhaps more adequately represented than some of them think," Prof Curtice told the BBC.

Graham Stringer, the Labour MP for Manchester Blackley, dismissed English regional committees, saying they did "not deal with the fundamental problem: that people living in Glasgow or Aberdeen have more money spent on them by a factor of about a third than those in Manchester and they can vote for - at a level below the national parliamentary level - people to make decisions on the health service and planning, which people in Manchester can't".

He went on: "Until the democratic deficit and the amount of money is put right, then I don't think these proposals by Gordon will be anything but a talking shop."

He wanted to see economic power devolved properly from central to local government in England.

He said the "unfairness" between public spending in Scotland and England was controversial in his constituency.

Mr Straw pointed out that the financial settlement for the four nations of the UK was determined by English MPs, who had more than 80% of representation in the Commons.