Independent Scotland 'would shock US'

Published on Wednesday 1 October 2008 20:18

Speaking to The Scotsman ahead of a speech in Edinburgh last night, Sir Christopher said that, while American politicians were well aware of the SNP administration in Edinburgh, hardly any would have even considered the prospect of a break-up of the UK.

Another former ambassador to the US, Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, warned last week that independence could spark the withdrawal of investment from Scotland by US businesses. But Sir Christopher said this might not happen because American business leaders were not sentimental and would invest if they saw opportunities, regardless of the political situation on the ground.

Lord Kerr said: "Although people in the United States know there is a very strong SNP and Alex Salmond is First Minister, I suspect if you walked the corridors of power in Washington, not many people expect (independence] actually to happen.

"If it were to happen, people would be stunned."

But he added: "Business investment is incredibly hard-headed; there is no sentiment to it. People would look at Scotland and ask – is it a good prospect or a bad prospect?

"It maybe means that they might stop investing, but not necessarily so."