Stirling’s MP has sparked a further debate over currency after a Scottish £20 note he tried to use at a London airport was refused.

Tory Stephen Kerr was miffed last month when staff at the WH Smith store at London City Airport refused to accept the Bank of Scotland note.

Mr Kerr had been in London on Parliamentary business and was awaiting a flight back to Scotland when the incident unfolded on May 10.

Purchasing a diet Coca Cola and some newspapers, the £20 note he produced to the cashier was refused.

He said: “I’m genuinely surprised that this is still happening. There is no good reason for it and comes down to companies not being clear with their staff so that they know there is no reason to refuse Scottish notes.

“These notes are legal currency throughout the UK, just the same as those issued in Northern Ireland and other parts of the United Kingdom.”

The MP wrote to the retailer to voice his concerns and received a reply from the firm’s managing director Toby Keir.

Mr Keir wrote: “I would like to apologise for your experience in London City Airport on May 10. I can confirm that it is our company policy to accept Scottish £20 notes in all our UK stores and while we provide this training to all our sales assistants, unfortunately, on occasion mistakes can be made.

“I have asked our management team to ensure that this policy is re-briefed in store to prevent such incidents happening again in future.”

In April, the Observer told how Dunblane tennis coach Judy Murray’s Scottish £10 notes was refused in a London bakery as she attempted to purchase doughnuts.

The mum of Wimbledon champs, Jamie and Andy, took to social media to detail her dealings with a city bakery who would not accept her Bank of Scotland note for the tasty treats.

She posted on Twitter: “When you go to pay £9 for 2 donuts (yes, really) in London and your £10 Bank of Scotland note is refused because ‘we only take British ones’.”

The legal position with regard to Scottish bank notes is that, whilst they are legal currency, they are not ‘legal tender’ anywhere in the UK, not even in Scotland.

There are no bank notes, including those issued by the Bank of England, that qualify for the term ‘legal tender’ north of the border.

In England and Wales, legal tender is Royal Mint coins and Bank of England notes whilst in Scotland and Northern Ireland, only Royal Mint coins are legal tender.

Across the UK there are restrictions when using lower value coins as legal tender. Using 1p and 2p coins only counts as legal tender for any amount up to 20p.

The Treasury is responsible for defining which notes have ‘legal tender’ status within the UK.

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