Dennis Canavan vowed to continue his fight for a national holiday

They instead voted 66 to 58 for a Scottish Executive amendment to examine ways the 30 November can be celebrated without the loss of a day's work.

The bill was put forward by independent MSP Dennis Canavan, who has vowed to continue his fight.

The bill is now being sent back to Holyrood's Enterprise and Culture Committee, which unanimously backed it in the first place.

Mr Canavan, MSP for Falkirk West, said Scotland was languishing at the bottom of the European league of public holidays.

We could not enforce the bill as it stands even if we passed it Tom McCabe Finance Minister

"The executive apparently fails to understand that workers are not guaranteed a holiday on any bank holiday unless it's written into their contract of employment," he said.

"It's absolutely spurious to argue that if it's not going to be a holiday for everyone then it can't be a holiday for anyone."

"How on earth can a working day be a more effective celebration than a holiday?"

He added: "John Knox must be burling in his grave at such a perverse interpretation of the work ethic - `let us celebrate St Andrew's day by telling the workers to get on with their work'."

'No need'

Finance Minister Tom McCabe told parliament that there was no need to bring in new laws to celebrate St Andrew's Day.

"The bill does not create a mandatory public holiday in Scotland as there is no such concept and therefore we could not enforce the bill as it stands even if we passed it," he said.

"Referring this bill back to the committee keeps it alive. It keeps alive the search for a more comprehensive way of celebrating our national day."

Mr McConnell had earlier said: "I do not believe that a political party and serious political figures can claim to be business-friendly if they do not think very carefully about the implications of that bill, the impact it would have on Scottish business and on public sector costs."

Prominent figures

The bill had won support from prominent Scots figures including tycoon Lord Macfarlane, former Scotland rugby captain Gavin Hastings, Scotland's Roman Catholic leader Cardinal Keith O'Brien and Scots actress Elaine C Smith.

A Tory amendment which would have ensured that, if passed, a St Andrew's Day bank holiday would come at the expense of an existing one, was defeated.

What's the point of having committees at all if you are to dismiss what the committees are saying Murdo Fraser Scottish Tories

The executive amendment was backed by Labour and Liberal MSPs.

Committee convener Alex Neil opposed the amendment and said: "Sending this back to the committee to do again the work it has already done is not only absurd, it will have consequences for other key aspects of the executive's legislative programme."

The SNP MSP claimed the executive wanted the bill sent back to the committee so it could be killed off.

Tory enterprise spokesman Murdo Fraser told ministers: "What's the point of having committees at all if you are to dismiss what the committees are saying?"

Green MSP Shiona Baird added: "For the executive not to wholeheartedly support this bill is quite frankly beyond belief."