The Scotsman cartoon: Lord Robertson on independence

SCOTTISH independence would be welcomed by the “forces of darkness” around the world, former Nato secretary General Lord Robertson said.

By The Newsroom

Published 9th Apr 2014, 01:00 BST

The Labour peer and former Scottish Secretary warned a Yes vote would be “cataclysmic” in a speech to the Brookings Institute in the US.

He called on other states around the world, including Britain’s allies to make their views public on the issue.

“The loudest cheers for the break-up of Britain would be from our adversaries and from our enemies,” he said.

“For the second military power in the west to shatter this year would be cataclysmic in geo-political terms.”

Meanwhile First Minister Alex Salmond said an independent Scotland will use “enlightened self-interest” to become a force for good in the world.

It is possible to be a great nation without pretending to be a great power, he said in the inaugural Caledonian lecture at Glasgow Caledonian University’s New York campus.