John Boothman

Oxford don Nigel Biggar says the 2014 referendum led him to reassess the benefits of the Union

Academics have voiced concern about the “faltering inarticulacy” of unionists in explaining the benefits of the United Kingdom.

To help launch These Islands, a pro-UK think tank advancing “the moral, multicultural and economic case” for the Union in the 21st century, Oxford don Nigel Biggar warned against Scottish independence as a solution for those north of the border opposed to Brexit.

The regius professor of moral and pastoral theology said: “To enter upon the risks of divorce for grievances that are trivial, temporary and in the past would be reckless and imprudent and therefore morally wrong.”

Pointing out that Scotland exports four times more to the rest of the UK than it does to the rest of the EU, Biggar said: “One of the most…