DES Browne yesterday rejected attempts to get Scottish banknotes designated legal tender in England. The Liberal Democrats had appealed to the Scottish Secretary to change the law and reclassify Scottish notes, which are currently not officially legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom.

They are accepted generally as payment but do not have the legal backing that Bank of England ones enjoy. The term legal tender is only used in contract law and provides protection in limited cases where debtors have paid debts using “legal tender”.

In every other way, the legal tender of a banknote does not affect its use. But the Lib Dems say there have been instances when traders in England have refused Scottish notes, claiming they were not “legal tender” and this could not happen if the notes were given the same legal backing as Bank of England ones. Read Full Story