Scottish independence: Salmond welcomes Murray's last minute declaration of support
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Version 0 of 1. As voting got underway in Scotland, Alex Salmond received an early boost when Andy Murray delivered a surprise endorsement of independence. The First Minister responded: “I hear Andy Murray has hit another winner today, which is great news, and I think the message for Scotland is, let’s do it now… It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I think you can see it already from the number of people voting.” The Wimbledon champion, who lives in England and does not have a vote, tweeted his support for a Yes vote early today for 2.7m followers. He told them: “Huge day for Scotland today! No campaign negativity last few days totally swayed my view on it. Excited to see the outcome. Lets do this!” His backing came as a surprise because he previously condemned Mr Salmond for unfurling the Saltire after his Wimbledon victory last year. His name was also invoked this week by David Cameron on a list of Great Scots when the Prime Minister delivered a last-minute plea for a No vote. Earlier this year Murray refused to be drawn over his attitude towards independence. He said: “I will take a position. My thoughts on it aren’t that relevant, because I can’t vote myself. “I wouldn’t personally choose to make my feelings on something like that public either because not a whole lot of good comes from it. “I don’t know a whole lot about politics, and I have made that mistake in the past and it’s caused me a headache for seven or eight years of my life and a lot of abuse. |