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A TORY peer branded Scotland a country of ­subsidy junkies who beat up English students yesterday.

Lord Flight ranted: “The English have had enough of ­subsidising Scotland, only to be treated with discourtesy.”

The peer first went on the attack online but refused to back down when confronted at his London home.

When our reporters caught up with the peer at his swanky £3.5million Westminster ­mansion, Flight was in no mood to apologise.

And he claimed to have friends and family who had been attacked for being ­English.

Flight, 63, said: “I have had two children at ­Edinburgh University, both of whom have experienced nasty ­incidents.

“And a business colleague came back the other day, phoned me and said, ‘I have just been flying back from Scotland and I was ­subjected to racist abuse.’

“I have a lot of Scottish friends here and they are embarrassed that the more nationalist ­elements are needing to be racialist toward the English.”

Flight claimed most English people would be in favour of Scotland becoming independent.

He said: “The English are fed up because they have granted Scotland a pretty fair devolution with quite a lot of money from ­England and they just come back wanting more.

“A deal was done back in the 1700s which was of great benefit to Scotland. The Blair government did another deal and now they’re not happy with that.

“I suppose I am saying, beware Scotland, a majority of the English think you should get ­independence, which would not be very good news economically for you.”

Flight insisted he backs Prime Minister David Cameron’s plan to set the terms of an independence referendum. The lord said: “My ­practical view is that it would be a nightmare to break up the UK, ­incurring huge costs and posing all sorts of difficult questions.

“Even if ­Scotland deserves to be kicked out of the Union, I am opposed in ­principle.

“There have been nearly 300 years of hugely successful collaboration between the Scots and the English, particularly about the world.

“I therefore hope that David ­Cameron’s initiative is successful. Appeasement has failed and is not the route forward.”

Flight also urged Scottish ­business leaders to campaign against independence and the ­Scottish Tories to call themselves the Unionist Party.

SNP MSP Stewart Maxwell said last night: “It is comments like these that show why the Tories are so out of touch with the people of ­Scotland

“Comparing devolution with ­appeasement is ridiculous. If Lord Flight believes Scotland should stand on her own two feet then he should turn his support to ­independence so that Scotland can thrive as an independent nation with full economic powers.”

Former Tory MP Flight gave up his Arundel and South Downs seat in 2005 after claiming there was greater scope for Tory cuts.

He entered the House Of Lords last year despite claiming welfare cuts for the middle classes would ­encourage poor ­people to have more children.

He was ordered to apologise by Cameron after his comment on the coalition’s plans to axe child benefit for higher-rate taxpayers.

Flight had to back down after claiming: “We’re going to have a system where the middle classes are discouraged from ­breeding because it’s ­expensive.

“But for those on benefits, there is every incentive.”