Liberal Democrats will be free to campaign for Scottish independence if a second referendum is held, Tim Farron has said.

The Lib Dem leader stressed that he was strongly in favour of the union and its break-up would be "terrible".

His comments come after the party's leader in Scotland said some Lib Dems had already spoken out in favour of independence and would continue to be allowed to do so.

Mr Farron said the party would "tolerate" people choosing to take their own position "but I am very clear, as somebody who is a northern Briton, somebody born in Lancashire and now part of my community in Cumbria, that Scotland is absolutely integral to my identity and believe that Britain is better together".

He told the BBC: "If Scotland were to leave the UK it would be terrible news for Britain, terrible news for Cumbria, terrible news for Scotland."

The same principle would apply to the European Union referendum, although Mr Farron said there would be few Lib Dems campaigning for Brexit.

"I am not Joseph Stalin. I am of the view that people are entitled to have their own opinions.

"But what you will find in the Liberal Democrats is that's hardly a question that will matter because the Liberal Democrats are very clear that the most patriotic thing you can do in the next 12 months is to campaign to keep Britain at the heart of the European Union."