Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Chancellor Alistair Darling have penned letters to 10,000 people in key seats across Scotland in a bid to boost the Labour vote

The two Labour heavyweights have urged voters to help the party defeat the SNP by voting Labour.

In his letter, Mr Brown says Nicola Sturgeon “should focus on the day job of running our schools and hospitals, and forget about her obsession with another divisive independence referendum”.

While Mr Darling, who was leader of the Better Together campaign warns in his letter “a vote for the Conservatives, or any other party, won’t stop another divisive referendum, it will simply help the SNP win here and across Scotland.”

The letters have been targeted at marginal seats across Scotland.