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| Scotland to hold independence poll in 2014 - Salmond | Scotland to hold independence poll in 2014 - Salmond |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Scotland plans to hold an independence referendum in the autumn of 2014, First Minister Alex Salmond has said. | Scotland plans to hold an independence referendum in the autumn of 2014, First Minister Alex Salmond has said. |
| He said this date would allow the Scottish people to make a "considered" decision on Scotland's future within the United Kingdom. | He said this date would allow the Scottish people to make a "considered" decision on Scotland's future within the United Kingdom. |
| The news came as the UK government said a referendum would be unconstitutional without its authority. | The news came as the UK government said a referendum would be unconstitutional without its authority. |
| It has said it wanted to work with the SNP-led administration amid a row over the timing and conditions for a poll. | It has said it wanted to work with the SNP-led administration amid a row over the timing and conditions for a poll. |
| Confirming the Scottish government's preferred date for a referendum, Mr Salmond - who wants Scotland to separate from the rest of the UK - said the Scottish people faced "their most important decision for 300 years". | |
| Holding a poll in 2014 would allow all the necessary legislation required to authorise it to be passed and for proper preparations to be made, he said. | |
| "The date will allow people to hear all of the arguments," he told Sky News. "Autumn 2014 is the date which offers the opportunity for Scotland to have a considered referendum." | |
| The referendum had "to be made in Scotland" and be approved by the Scottish Parliament and he warned the UK government about "trying to pull the strings behind the scenes". | |
| "What Scotland objects to is all the strings they (the UK government) are trying to to attach. They are trying to run a referendum by proxy." | |
| Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that uncertainty over Scotland's future is damaging its economy and all three Unionist Parties - the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats - have called for any referendum vote to be held as soon as possible. | |
| Scottish Secretary Michael Moore has said the Scottish government cannot authorise a referendum on its own and that the UK government is willing to devolve the authority for it do so but only if the referendum is "legal, decisive and fair". |