Born in Northern Ireland, but largely raised in Scotland, he qualified as a chartered accountant and worked as a researcher to the prominent Liberal Democrat politician, David Steel.

At the 1997 general election, Moore succeeded Steel as the Liberal Democrat MP for the Scottish Borders constituency of Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk from 2005).

He joined the Liberal Democrat Frontbench Team in 2005, and held many portfolios, including Defence, Foreign Affairs, International Development and Northern Ireland & Scotland (joint).

On leaving University he worked for a year as a researcher for Liberal Democrat MP Archy Kirkwood before joining the Edinburgh office of accountants Coopers & Lybrand.

Under the leadership of Sir Menzies Campbell he looked after Foreign Affairs and under Nick Clegg took the title of Shadow Secretary of State for International Development.

Moore resigned from that position on 20 September 2010 citing the pressures of an increased workload following his elevation to Secretary of State for Scotland following the 2010 general election.

[3] Shortly after becoming Secretary of State for Scotland, he appeared on the BBC's Question Time programme, where he was challenged by an audience member who felt concerned that he would be made homeless by the government's new housing policies.

Describing him within the context of the role he occupied as a "safe pair of hands in a job where the definition of success is being able to keep out of trouble"[6] As part of the British government's 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) due to be announced on 20 October, Moore lent his support to Defence Secretary Liam Fox in cabinet discussions to retain funding for two aircraft carriers which would be constructed in yards around Britain, including in Glasgow and Rosyth in Scotland.

The project, costing £5.2 billion was thought to be under threat following the spending review which many believed could result in a 20% cut in the Ministry of Defence budget.

He added that "spending on frontline public services will be reduced by less than in England, Wales or Northern Ireland" and said: "if we don't address that £155bn deficit now, Scots will end up paying longer and more".

The audio recording, obtained 24 hours after the vote in the House of Commons heard Moore express unease over the policy saying "Tuition fees ... [are] the biggest, ugliest, most horrific thing in all of this".

"[14] He continued that the vote on tuition fees was "deeply damaging to my party, to me individually and lots of others" but said: "what we've all had to weigh up is the greater sense of what the Coalition is about.

[15] Should the proposals go through, the Scottish Parliament would be responsible for raising approximately 35% of the revenue it spends with the remainder being funded by the United Kingdom block grant.

"[15] He said that future Scottish Governments would have more accountability for the financial decisions they make and said that the bill addressed a number of "major issues and takes the settlement forward in a powerful and positive way.

[17] Moore pledged to introduce a bill committing the UK Government to devote a minimum of 0.7 per cent of its national income to international aid.