Alexander dodges second Scottish indyref question as he shrugs off criticism of his appointment

And the East Lothian MP, who served in the same role under Tony Blair, ducked questions on whether an SNP win at next year's Holyrood election should result in a second referendum on independence.

He also dodged answering a question on past criticism of his expenses, in the wake of Angela Rayner's resignation over tax matters which broke the ministerial code.

Mr Alexander was appointed as Secretary of State for Scotland in a shock move on Friday which saw Ian Murray ousted from the Cabinet.

The manner of his sacking sparked internal fury in Scottish Labour, with many MPs on social media giving their thanks and support to Murray.

Just hours after he was sacked he was invited back into government but in a demoted role, and now sits as as Minister of State jointly in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Today Douglas Alexander acknowledged the turmoil but told LBC: "Ian is a personal friend, as well as a colleague. I want to pay generous tribute to the work that he did. Not least after the wipe out in 2015 and the aftermath of the referendum, but ultimately, Prime Ministers at their reshuffles get to choose their team and decide who they want in what positions.

"I understand he is now back in government and is one of a number of Scots who’ll be in government. My understanding is actually there will be more Scots in government by the end of this reshuffle than at the beginning, and I think that's something that as a Scottish MP I’m delighted to welcome."

Asked if Murray's sacking was evidence of a party in chaos and Keir Starmet being out of touch with the Scottish party, he added: "There's a huge affection for Ian and I understand that and share it, not at least with a deep sense of gratitude for him continuing to keep the flag flying in the aftermath of 2015.

"But I think most people, when they think about their own workplaces, recognise that ultimately the leadership of the party or the manager of the business gets to make choices, periodically in terms of personnel, and the Prime Minister I'm delighted to say has Ian, now working across two government departments."

On whether this would impact on Scottish Labour's chances at next year's Holyrood elections - given the party is already 20 points behind the SNP in recent polling - he said it would take "hard work and humility" to claw back support lost since the General Election.

Asked if an SNP majority win in 2026 should trigger a second independence referendum - which John Swinney laid out as his plan last week - Mr Alexander said: "I think the Scottish National Party, if they were capable of solving Scotland's problems would have done so in the two decades that they'd been in power. So we've got heavy responsibility in months to make the case for a new direction for Scotland, and under Anas Sarwar's leadership, that's exactly what we intend to do."

Pressed on a mechanism which would trigger a second referendum he ducked the question, saying: "I think the fact that the SNP are regressing to once again talking about independence reflects the fact that they're just embarrassed about talking about the state of the health service.. they're embarrassed to talk about ferries.. and they're embarrassed about education.

"So they're failing on education, they're failing on transport, they're failing in health. They're trying to change the conversation, the ultimately it will be up to the people to decide what the 2026 election is really about."

And on Angela Rayner's breaking of the ministerial code and her resignation over tax matter, Mr Alexander was asked about his own past financial errors.

During the 2009 MP expenses scandal it was revealed he had repaid more than £12,000 previously claimed in expenses on his taxpayer-funded second home. He had also been receiving income from a tenant at the same home - a situation described as "double funding" and against expenses rules.

Today he said: "Listen, Angela Rayner was a huge asset to the government and I'm immmensely proud of a woman who overcame the challenges she did and became Deputy Prime Minister. But we said in an opposition that we would strengthen the office of the independent adviser of standards, that we would strengthen the ministerial code. And I, like every other minister or subject to those demands of those responsibilities."