UNIONISTS have been warned that if they do not up their game, they will see the creation of an independent Scottish republic as Nicola Sturgeon was described as “Glasgow’s de Valera” in the House of Lords.

The intervention from Lord Garnier came as another Conservative peer suggested more airtime should be given to UK ministers in Scotland and across the UK to help strengthen a sense of Britishness.

The comments were made as the UK Government was pressed over the absence of the publication of the Dunlop Report into strengthening the Union.

Written by former Scotland Office Minister Lord Dunlop, it has been on Boris Johnson’s desk since December 2019. Whitehall sources have suggested every time there was an intention to publish it, a development in the battle against Covid-19 pushed it back.

Lord True, the Cabinet Office Minister, appealed to peers to have a “little patience” and told them it would be published “shortly”. Last week, Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, hinted it could come this month as so-called purdah rules, that ban Government reports ahead of elections, kick in towards the end of March in relation to the Holyrood election in May.

But, following the Prime Minister’s visit to Scotland last week and in the context of 20 consecutive polls placing the Yes campaign ahead, Lord Garnier told peers that if the UK did “not make an effort, Scotland would become a republic separated from the United Kingdom, not because the moderate majority want that but because to misquote[the 19th century Irish politician] Daniel O’Connoll – England’s difficulty is Scotland’s opportunity”.

The former Solicitor General in David Cameron’s Government added: “Are not the Unionists from every part of the UK letting Ms Sturgeon, or Glasgow’s de Valera[the Irish Nationalist leader], hold the floor because they fear confusing English Nationalism with patriotic Unionism and are thus failing to make the powerful, emotional and obvious economic case for the Union?”

Lord True insisted he “could not conceive why anyone would want to remove the Queen as head of state”.

He declared: “Everybody should advocate the United Kingdom and our Union. We have no fear in doing so. And that goes from the lowest to the highest in the land and in every corner in our United Kingdom.”

Later, Viscount Trenchard told peers that the BBC, “funded by the UK taxpayer,” had, across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, reduced the airtime given to UK Government ministers while having “greatly increased” it in relation to those from the devolved administrations.

“This strengthens the perception of separateness and has contributed to a diminution of appealing of Britishness and an increase in support for independence,” explained the elected hereditary peer.

He asked the minister: “Does he not agree in all parts of the United Kingdom much more airtime should be given to UK ministers and will he ensure the incoming chairman and director general of the BBC will correct the current harmful balance.”

Lord True said he would not give directions to BBC chiefs but noted: “I will say, certainly, some people have found aspects of the coverage confusing and indeed perhaps as not as optimistic as they might in certain circumstances.

“I believe the nation does need optimism and it does need hope. I do believe that more emphasis on the joint efforts of the NHS, British Army and other armed services and volunteers right across this country at the moment deserves the fullest exposure, the fullest publicity and the fullest support.”

The issue of the Dunlop Report was initially raised by Lord Foulkes, who pointed out the Tory peer had been tasked to produce a document on the Union as far back as July 2019.

“Why are they afraid or unwilling to publish this report and the Government’s response,” asked the Labour peer.

Lord True insisted UK ministers were not afraid to publish the report and suggested the intention had been to publish it last year.

“We want to ensure we provide a full a response to Lord Dunlop as possible but the key component of that…is related to the review of intergovernmental relations and we are hoping to carry both those strands forward at the same time,” he explained.

Crossbencher Lord Hope of Craighead argued that, as seen from Scotland, strengthening and maintaining the Union was becoming more difficult “as each day passes”.

He suggested the UK Government needed to do much more now from within Scotland to “make its voice heard there and its message understood”.

Labour’s Baroness Bryan of Partick pointed out the Dunlop Report had been completed before the creation of the controversial Internal Market Bill became law and asked how Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office Minister, could already be implementing the recommendations of the report when he had not shared its recommendations with the devolved administrations.

Lord True insisted Mr Gove was second to none in reinforcing the Union and was, by definition, “acting constantly every day around the aspirations of the Dunlop Report”.