Scots would have to vote “Yes” in two separate referendums before the country became independent, a member of David Cameron’s Cabinet warned yesterday.
The highly-controversial view was put forward by Michael Moore, the Scottish Secretary, in a move that immediately opened up a new front in the ongoing constitutional hostilities between the SNP Scottish Government in Edinburgh and David Cameron’s coalition Government in London.
At a briefing for journalists at his Edinburgh office, Mr Moore said that a referendum organised by Alex Salmond’s administration on the principle of independence could only be advisory.
While a “Yes” vote would inevitably lead to negotiations on the terms of an independence settlement, a second “binding” plebiscite, organised by the Government in London, would have to be held to