THE Stone of Destiny should be returned to its ancient home at Scone in Perthshire, according to a Tory MSP for the area.

The proposal comes nearly 10 years after the most recent Tory Scottish Secretary had it returned to Scotland from Westminster Abbey, where it had been for nearly 700 years.

Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth believed it might help counter the widespread view that the Tory administration was anti-Scottish.

He had the stone returned to Edinburgh Castle on St Andrew's Day 1996, where it remains with the Scottish crown jewels.

Murdo Fraser, Tory deputy Scottish leader and list MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife, said: "Scone Palace is the original home of the Stone of Destiny, where Scottish Kings were crowned. The stone is pivotal to the history of Scotland and the UK, and there is no historical, political, constitutional or economic reason for it to be in Edinburgh.

"Moving the stone to its rightful home in Scone would create a new tourist attraction in Perthshire and allow the stone to be exhibited in a context which properly explained its historical background and significance."

Westminster Abbey officials yesterday said they were content for the Stone of Destiny to be in Scotland, in the wake of reports that the decision to return it caused consternation among Church of England authorities.

A programme to be broadcast next week on BBC Radio Scotland reportedly quotes an honorary steward at the abbey as saying its Dean was "livid" with the decision to move it.

A spokesman for the abbey said the steward was airing a personal view. "A decade has passed now since the Stone of Scone was moved and the Dean and Chapter are content with the situation as it is, " the spokesman said.