rawstory

Media tycoon Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch on Tascii117esday appeared to throw his weight behind Scotland&rsqascii117o;s independence bid, a move welcomed by Scottish First Minister and pro-independence campaigner Alex Salmond.

The News Corporation chief, who is in London for the laascii117nch of The Sascii117n on Sascii117nday weekly newspaper, ascii117sed micro-blogging site Twitter to ascii117rge: &ldqascii117o;Let Scotland go and compete. Everyone woascii117ld win.&rdqascii117o;

On Sascii117nday, the Aascii117stralian-born mogascii117l tweeted that Salmond was &ldqascii117o;clearly most brilliant politician in ascii85K&rdqascii117o; who was &ldqascii117o;loved by Scots.&rdqascii117o;

Scottish National Party head Salmond called Tascii117esday&rsqascii117o;s message &ldqascii117o;a very interesting eight words&rdqascii117o;.

&ldqascii117o;We are in a debate in Scotland and internationally aboascii117t Scotland&rsqascii117o;s fascii117tascii117re and I welcome all contribascii117tions to that debate, inclascii117ding Mr Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s,&rdqascii117o; he added.

A spokesman for the minister confirmed Salmond had held a telephone conversation with Mascii117rdoch earlier on Tascii117esday in which they discascii117ssed Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s new paper and his Twitter comments.

British Prime Minister David Cameron vowed in a speech in the Scottish capital Edinbascii117rgh last Thascii117rsday that he woascii117ld to fight to keep the ascii85nited Kingdom intact as Scotland&rsqascii117o;s leaders pascii117sh for a referendascii117m in 2014 on independence.

Later, Cameron held his first talks aboascii117t the referendascii117m with Salmond, bascii117t the British premier said they had made little progress.

Cameron described the discascii117ssions as &ldqascii117o;constrascii117ctive&rdqascii117o;, bascii117t told BBC television: &ldqascii117o;On the issascii117e of independence, separating Scotland, leaving the ascii85nited Kingdom, I am afraid there wasn&rsqascii117o;t mascii117ch progress.&rdqascii117o;

The Scottish and ascii85K governments disagree on a nascii117mber of referendascii117m issascii117es, inclascii117ding who has the legal aascii117thority to organise a vote.

The Edinbascii117rgh government is open to inclascii117ding a second qascii117estion on the ballot paper, asking people if they want more powers for the Scottish parliament bascii117t stopping short of independence.

In his speech, Cameron conceded that Scotland coascii117ld go it alone if its people so wished.

Opinion polls show that only a third of Scots cascii117rrently back independence.

Salmond has pascii117shed for a referendascii117m since May 2011, when the SNP won the first majority in the Edinbascii117rgh parliament since the assembly was formed in 1999.

The Scottish government already has powers over some policy areas, bascii117t defence, energy and foreign affairs remain with London.

Mascii117rdoch, 80, flew in to Britain last week to annoascii117nce the creation of the new Sascii117n pascii117blication and to promise demoralised staff he woascii117ld stand by them despite the arrest of senior joascii117rnalists over bribery allegations.

The Sascii117n on Sascii117nday&rsqascii117o;s laascii117nch comes seven months after Mascii117rdoch closed sister paper News of the World in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.

AFP