Most Scots no longer want independence, says Murphy

And he told a conference in Edinburgh people who still supported "separatism" were denying the reality of the modern world.

"They still see everything in black and white while the world is now watching in HD," he said.

Mr Murphy claimed the case for breaking up Britain had never been weaker. He said being part of one of the world's strongest economies was Scotland's best protection from a global economic crisis and events of the past year had convinced people of that.

Speaking at the same conference, First Minister Alex Salmond said even if people disagreed on what Scotland's constitutional future should be, there was a growing consensus Scots had the right to decide in a referendum.

Mr Murphy had challenged Mr Salmond to a head-to-head debate at the George Hotel event, but the First Minister dismissed the challenge as a "silly stunt".

Mr Murphy said the global financial crisis had seen renowned Scottish banks hours from collapse. "For the Scottish banks it was Britain or Bust," he said. "The recapitalising of the banks cost 50 billion – that's 10,000 for every man, woman and child in Scotland. And the Asset Protection Scheme for insuring toxic debts is worth 585bn – which equates to six times the annual value of the Scottish economy.

"Most Scots, including many who supported separation, are now saying TGI Britain. The economic case for devolution has never been stronger and the case for breaking up Britain has never been weaker. In a global economy there is nowhere to hide. The best protection is integration into a strong economy.

"Those who support breaking up Britain leave too many questions unanswered. For starters, can someone explain how Scotland leaves Britain yet seeks to retain the monarchy, currency, passports and embassy network of the nation state they have left?"

Mr Salmond argued the real lessons of the current economic situation were that Scotland needed full economic and financial powers so the government here could take the necessary decisions to promote recovery.

But as long as those powers remained at Westminster, Scotland was left having to ask the Treasury to allow spending to be brought forward to help boost the economy, for example by building more affordable homes. Regardless of differences over Scotland's destination, politicians should be able to agree on the right of people to choose Scotland's constitutional future, he said. The SNP was confident of the case for independence and challenged other parties to name their alternative.