Lord Sutherland said higher education institutions north of the Border will be unable to compete with their counterparts in England, with the latter enjoying far greater levels of income.

He also argued that universities will have less money for scholarships, thereby limiting the number of students from poorer backgrounds who can afford to sit a degree course.

The call by Lord Sutherland, a former principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh and a former vice-chancellor of the University of London, came as the UK's higher education leaders held their annual conference in Edinburgh.

While top-up fees of up to £3,000 were introduced in England and Wales in 2006, the following year the SNP administration abolished them altogether.

However, according to the latest statistics from Higher Education Statistics Agency, Scotland had fewer university students from disadvantaged backgrounds than any other part of the UK.

Only 26 per cent of students in Scotland come from poorer backgrounds, compared with 40 per cent in Northern Ireland and 30 per cent across the UK as a whole.

Academic experts have repeatedly warned that the abolition of tuition fees means Scottish universities will lose their best staff to England and the resources to conduct cutting-edge research.

Lord Sutherland said: "South of the border they have fees. I believe they will increase the range of fees paid and Scottish universities will be less competitive as a result. That's just fact.

"If the fees are paid by those who can afford it - and some can because they've been paying very expensive school fees at private schools - then there's more room for universities to provide money for scholarships."

A previous Labour-led administration scrapped up-front tuition fees for Scottish students in 2001, but introduced a £2,300 graduate endowment paid after students had completed their course.

However, this was scrapped by SNP ministers, who argued it deterred those with lower incomes attending university.

Lord Sutherland said participation rates in Scotland have increased "dramatically", but more people from poorer backgrounds should be going on to higher education.

The National Union of Students and the University and College Union Scotland both attacked his comments, but Opposition parties called for an independent review of university funding.

Claire Baker, Scottish Labour higher education spokesman, said: "The SNP are failing to deliver the funding that Scottish universities need to remain competitive in the UK and internationally and they are failing to address student hardship."

Murdo Fraser, Scottish Tory education spokesman, added: "Scottish universities simply cannot afford to lose top quality academics, and cannot see investment in facilities fall behind those of our counterparts in England."

But a Scottish Executive spokesman said: "We believe that access to education should be based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay and have made clear that we are opposed to students having to pay tuition fees in Scotland."

(www.eduwo.com, Jainlyn&Charlotte)