THE UK Labour party vetoed the appointment of former presiding officer George Reid to the new body reviewing devolution.

Reid, who used to be an SNP MSP, was thought to be too "nationalist" for a position on the Constitutional Commission.

This was despite him having the support of Labour's Holyrood leader Wendy Alexander as well as the Liberal Democrats.

The Commission has been set up to review the powers of the Scottish parliament.

Backed by Labour, the LibDems and the Tories, it is chaired by Glasgow University chancellor Sir Kenneth Calman and is viewed as a counterpoint to the SNP government's "national conversation" on independence.

Calman will tomorrow unveil the members of the commission who will produce a final report next year.

Discussions over the make-up of the commission have taken place over the past few months and have not always led to consensus.

The Sunday Herald understands the Liberal Democrats, in a meeting earlier this year, suggested Reid would be an asset to the body.

Reid, a former SNP MP and MSP, was the Parliament's presiding officer between 2003 and 2007, before standing down from Holyrood last year.

He is respected across all sides of the political spectrum and is currently the Queen's Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

However, representatives from the UK Labour party are said to have blocked Reid's appointment on the grounds that he was thought to be too "nationalist".

Alexander, who has staked a large part of her political future on making the commission a success, is known to have approved of Reid being on the commission.

One insider said: "George Reid was mentioned as a potential commission member, but Labour said no'."

The commission will instead be comprised of party appointments and representatives from civic Scotland.

Former Tory minister Jamie Lindsay is expected to be one of the appointments, as is Labour peer Lord Elder, who gave a donation to Alexander's leadership campaign.

Others invited onto the commission include CBI Scotland director Iain McMillan, Unison's Scottish secretary Matt Smith and lawyer Shonaig Macpherson.

It is also understood the preparatory work undertaken to establish the commission has included disagreements on where the body should meet.

The UK Government wanted the commission to hold its meetings at the Scotland Office, while the political parties in Holyrood argued for the Scottish Parliament to be the venue.

This mirrored an earlier row about the name of the body. Prime Minister Gordon Brown had made it clear that the word "commission" gave an "incorrect impression" about the group's status.

He wanted it to be called a "working party" or "review", ideas that were eventually knocked back.

A spokesman for Alexander said: "Wendy was not at all opposed to George Reid being part of the commission."

An SNP spokesman said: "George Reid's expertise on the powers and operation of the Scottish Parliament and his neutrality as presiding officer are widely respected around the world.

"Vetoing his appointment because he was elected for the SNP exposes the petty nature of Labour in Scotland."

A spokesman for Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Nicol Stephen said: "Nicol is still enthusiastic about George Reid playing a role on the commission."