Scot influence ‘would wither if poll was not legally binding’

Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank, said that the EU would “look benignly towards Scottish independence” if it was approved in a legally binding referendum.

He said: “The reason why the EU has not taken Catalonia’s side in the last couple of years is because the Catalans are pursuing a course of action which the EU perceives as illegal.” He said that if Scotland pursed a law-abiding route the EU could be “very welcoming”.