A FORMER Labour First Minister has called on Kezia Dugdale to provide clarity after she said her party's politicians would be free to campaign for independence in a future referendum.

Henry McLeish, who led the country between 2000 and 2001, said it would be a "historic" change of position for Scottish Labour to adopt a flexible position on independence.

On Sunday, when asked if MPs and MSPs should be free to campaign for a Yes vote if they were convinced of the merits of independence, Ms Dugdale said: "Yes. Many Labour members, in fact almost 30 per cent of Labour Party supporters, voted Yes. We know that now from all the evidence and I respect that.

"I'm not going to shut down my party's renewal and debate in my party because people hold a different position on independence."

Mr McLeish called for a "fairly quick" clarification of what the statement meant, saying having politicians campaign on both sides in a future referendum would leave the party looking divided.

Asked on Good Morning Scotland whether Ms Dugdale's statement had been sensible, he replied: "It would be quite a remarkable move, measured against the last 100 years of history on the constitution. I suppose, in a way, what is required here is to clarify if it's a debate within the party or a debate within the country.

"If the party is saying we need a bigger debate within the party, that's fine. But if for example you allow MPs, MSPs, MEPs and councillors to vote whatever way they want, what is the message we're telling the public?

"Is this an accommodation before the Holyrood election politically? Is it an attempt still to defeat independence, or indeed are we accommodating independence? I think this would be a remarkable decision but I think we need to have much more clarification.

"The other parties are already saying we're throwing in the towel. I don't think that's what Kezia is saying but I think we have to be quite clear that a debate in the party is not the same as saying to the country you can vote however you wish."

He added: "Are we asking the United Kingdom Labour Party to drop its historic opposition to independence? Are we saying to the Scottish people things are much more fluid, much more flexible? I think there has to be a fairly quick assessment of what the statement actually means. If it is to say we're having a flexible position on independence that would be historic, it would be, in a way, making a different position on the idea of Scotland's role within the union, and of course it would have huge implications for the very idea of Scotland staying within the union itself. "

Ms Dugdale's comments followed an interview with former Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont, who was party number one during the referendum campaign, and said Labour should consider having a "free vote" in any future independence referendum.

Writing in her column in the Daily Record today, Ms Dugdale said that the focus should be placed on education, rather than debating the possibility of another referendum.

Following a visit to a nursery and primary school on Friday, she said: "I wanted to show very clearly what I think the most important issue facing everybody in Scottish politics is right now – it’s making sure that every single child in Scotland gets a fair chance in life.

"I don’t expect the SNP Government to change their principles but I do expect them to change their priorities. So here’s my challenge to everybody in Scottish politics – focus on the future. I say this not just to the SNP and the Tories, but to my own party too.

"We should spend all our time and energy making sure the ability of every young person to get on in life is determined by their potential, work rate and ambition – not by how much money their parents have."