Celtic and Rangers's bid to join English football is reportedly being supported by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The government has given its full backing to the Scottish giants to move south due to safety concerns and to earn votes in the upcoming Scottish independence referendum.

A source told The People: "This is a major issue and the talks have gone all the way to the very top.

"This may sound strange to people in England but there are hundreds of ­thousands of votes here – and football is at the middle of a lot of debates up here."

Rangers and Celtic have previously lobbied unsuccessfully to join the English leagues.