THE SNP will be put under constant surveillance by a specially-appointed ''dirt-digger'' as part of a Labour plan to regain the political initiative in Scotland.

Labour is preparing to hire a researcher to collect ''enemy intelligence'' on the resurgent Nationalists, whose recent opinion poll and by-election successes have rattled Labour.

The new official will try to create maximum embarrassment for the Nationalists by exposing flaws in their policies and exploiting any misbehaviour by SNP representatives.

Labour's decision to appoint a dedicated intelligence-gatherer in Scotland is an indication of the increasingly acrimonious political battle north of the Border.

Whoever is appointed will play a key role in the party's ongoing effort to beef up its organisation and sharpen its campaigning edge before next year's first Scottish parliamentary elections.

The intelligence-gatherer, who will be appointed in the next few weeks, will monitor all the other parties and suggest ways of highlighting their weaknesses. Given the close-run contest between Tony Blair's party and the Nationalists, the appointee will concentrate on making life difficult for the SNP.

The Nationalists' economic policies, dismissed by Labour as ''Alex In Wonderland'' economics, will come under particular scrutiny.

Labour's new SNP-watcher will work closely with another new appointee whose job will involve instant and vigorous rebuttals of attacks on the party by rival politicians. Other additional staff also set to be recruited include someone to concentrate on polling trends and one or two personnel to assist the party's campaigning effort.

Paul McKinney, Labour's new spin doctor and campaign chief in Scotland, held talks with party general secretary Tom Sawyer in London yesterday aimed at securing more money to fund the raft of new appointments and underwrite Labour's fightback in Scotland.

A source at Labour's Millbank headquarters said senior party officials were conscious of the need to fight an effective campaign for the Holyrood elections.

''There will be a huge number of elections in Britain next year but the most important, in terms of affecting people's everyday lives, will be the ones for the Scottish Parliament, so they're going to be a priority.''

Millbank is determined to free up extra resources to help Labour in Scotland. As well as more cash, that is likely to involve senior party strategists heading north to share their skills. ''People here ran a highly-successful General Election campaign and have some useful experience to pass on,'' said a source. ''We want to harness their knowledge and skills into the service of the party in Scotland.''

Some secondments north of Millbank staff, as happened during last autumn's devolution referendum, are likely as Labour seeks to put up a good show in next year's Scottish poll.

In another sign of Labour's concerted fightback north of the Border, a number of the party's up-and-coming Scottish back bench MPs will also be given a campaigning role. Newly-elected MPs such as Frank Roy (Motherwell and Wishaw), Des Browne (Kilmarnock and Loudoun), Douglas Alexander (Paisley South), and Sandra Osborne (Ayr) will contribute ideas and help with particular areas, such as the formulation or presentation of policy.

Mr Browne, whose Ayrshire seat could be vulnerable if the Nationalists prosper, said Labour intended to expose the SNP as shallow political opportunists.

He said: ''Apart from a few reactive issues, such as the Sean Connery affair and the nuclear waste going to Dounreay, where have the SNP articulated any distinctive Scottish policies, except for demanding a referendum on independence?''

Labour should stick to producing vote-winning policies on basic issues such as health, jobs, and education, he added. That would help show that the SNP have no credible policies in those areas.