The SNP has accused Ken Livingstone of being "anti-Scottish".

London's mayor said earlier this week that the wealth of the capital is subsidising Scots, hindering the funding of the Crossrail transport plan.

"We need Crossrail to keep London's economy ticking over so that we can continue to pay for the Scottish to live the lifestyle to which they are accustomed," Livingstone is reported to have said.

Speaking in the Commons, Scottish nationalist MP Mike Weir said the remarks showed "something of a brass neck considering this year £12bn of Scottish oil revenues are enabling the prime minister's government to live in the style to which they have become accustomed".

Tony Blair replied that Crossrail "is important for London and the whole country, but what would be absolutely disastrous for Scotland would be to separate Scotland from the United Kingdom".

"That would be devastating for jobs in Scotland, devastating for the economy and devastating for the Scottish people," he said.

Speaking after the exchanges, Weir said the prime minister had "totally failed to distance himself from Labour mayor Ken Livingstone's inaccurate remarks".

"Tony Blair can bluster and try to talk Scotland down, but he cannot hide the fact that this year we are subsidising the rest of the UK to the tune of £800 for every man, woman and child in Scotland," he said.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the mayor said: "It was a light-hearted joke made at a reception but behind it lies the mayor's serious point, which is that if London is to be able to continue to transfer resources to the rest of the country, which it accepts it should do, it has to be able to invest - and Crossrail is the most vital part of that investment."