Prime Minister Tony Abbott has declared supporters of Scottish independence are not “friends of freedom” or “friends of justice” in an interview with a British newspaper.
Mr Abbott’s comments, which were published in The Times, are the strongest yet by a major foreign leader on the Scottish independence debate, and follow on from calls from United States president Barack Obama to keep the union intact.
Scotland goes to the polls on September 18 to decide whether to break away from the 307-year-old union with England.
“What the Scots do is a matter for the Scots and not for a moment do I presume to tell Scottish voters which way they should vote,” Mr Abbott said.
“As a friend of Britain, as an observer from afar, it’s hard to see how the world would be helped by an independent Scotland.
“I think that the people who would like to see the break-up of the United Kingdom are not the friends of justice, the friends of freedom, and the countries that would cheer at the prospect … are not the countries whose company one would like to keep.”
A spokesman for Scottish first minister Alex Salmond, who is leading the pro-independence campaign, said Mr Abbott had “put his foot in it”.
“Tony Abbott has a reputation for gaffes, but his bewildering comments have all the hallmarks of one of the Westminster government’s international briefings against Scotland,” he said.
“Many Australians, including the great number with close Scottish connections, will look on in bafflement at these remarks – Australia is a country that has gained its independence from Westminster and has never looked back.”
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