The Justice Committee also took evidence from former cabinet secretaries Lord Turnbull and Lord Butler, who said political parties should agree to a common set of principles setting out the constitutional conventions that would apply in the event of a hung parliament.

BBC: Justice Committee

The paper challenges the Scottish government to set out the cost of setting up and running a treasury, tax authority and central bank, a welfare structure, a foreign service, armed forces, an interior ministry to handle citizenship, immigration and border control, and regulators for issues including pensions, energy, telecommunications, health and safety, takeovers and advertising standards.

BBC: The Scottish Parliament

The Hutton inquiry, looking at the events leading up to the death of the 59-year-old Kelly, is set to begin Friday with a preliminary hearing setting out how Hutton intends to conduct the investigation.

CNN: Pressure on Hoon over Kelly chat