Michael Moore sacked as Scottish secretary in UK government reshuffle

London: Michael Moore, the Scottish secretary and one of the most senior figures in the UK government’s campaign against Scottish independence, has been sacked from his cabinet post in a surprise move by the coalition government.

Moore, the Liberal Democrat MP from the Scottish Borders, will be replaced by Alistair Carmichael, until now the Lib Dems’ chief whip in the Commons and deputy chief whip for the coalition, as the battle over independence moves into its final and critical year.

He was the first casualty of a UK government reshuffle taking place on Monday, which saw two middle-ranking Tory ministers resign over the weekend: deputy Tory chief whip John Randall and Cabinet Office minister Chloe Smith.

In a letter to Moore, Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister and Lib Dem leader, wrote: “As we discussed when we spoke on Friday, I believe we now need to draw on different experience in the final year running up to the referendum itself and I am keen that just as we have benefited from your formidable skills over the past three years that we take advantage of other experience within our ranks during this period.”

Clegg added: “I have no doubt that there will be an opportunity for your talents to be deployed in government in the future.” Moore replied: “I am pleased that Alistair will be succeeding me. As a good friend and long time colleague, I believe he will do a superb job.”

Moore, a close ally of former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell, had been due to co-host with the defence secretary, Philip Hammond, the launch of a major report by the UK government on independence and defence in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

His replacement by Carmichael, after more than three years in the post, suggests the coalition wants a more combative figure running the government’s campaign against Alex Salmond and the Scottish government, as the first minister prepares to publish his long-awaited white paper on independence.

Carmichael, the MP for Orkney and Shetland, has a more direct and blunt style than his predecessor and had previously been the Lib Dems’ spokesman in the Commons on Scotland and on Northern Ireland.

Moore, a chartered accountant who is MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, was seen as being restrained and unwilling to be combative with the Scottish government and Scottish National Party, though he rarely committed any significant gaffes.

He has played a central role in the referendum and in giving the Scottish parliament new tax-raising, borrowing and legal powers for the first time since devolution in 1998 under the Scotland Act 2012.

Moore helped guide the UK government’s negotiations with Salmond over the Edinburgh agreement to temporarily hand over legal powers to hold the referendum to the Scottish parliament.

The most serious criticisms against him came after he suggested last year there would need to be two referendums on independence: one where Scotland’s voters agreed to leave the UK, and the second to confirm they accepted the precise deal agreed after Scotland-UK negotiations.

He was given the post as Scotland secretary in late May 2010 after the first coalition minister in that post, Danny Alexander, was promoted to be chief secretary to the Treasury after the resignation of David Laws over his rental allowance claims.