Supporters of keeping Scotland within the UK held a 6 percentage-point lead in a final independence opinion poll which was published as voters were taking part in the referendum on whether Scotland should break the 307-year-old union.

The Ipsos Mori poll for the London Evening Standard newspaper put support for staying within the UK at 53 per cent, with support for independence at 47 per cent. It said four per cent of Scots who were certain to vote were still undecided.

Scots were voting in the referendum on Thursday, with the result expected to come early Friday morning. – Reuters