SCOTLAND could be kicked out of the UK if it blocks a leave vote in the EU referendum, a former leader of the SNP has said.

Gordon Wilson predicted a "constitutional crisis" if a narrow exit vote south of the border is countered by the strong remain vote in Scotland that polls consistently predict.

He raised the prospect of a referendum taking place in England over whether to dissolve the UK which he claimed may force Scotland to become independent regardless of whether the public wants to remain in the union.

Mr Wilson, an ex-MP who led the SNP for 11 years until Alex Salmond succeeded him in 1990, said that Scots had so far viewed the issue through "tartan glasses", with the possibility of a second independence vote if Scotland is dragged out of the EU against its will dominating debate.

However, speaking ahead of a EU debate in Dundee, he asked "what if the boot is on the other foot?"

Mr Wilson said: "Nothing has been said of what could happen where England is forced to stay in Europe because of Scottish votes after the English people had voted to leave.

"What will be the reaction in England if the crucial decision of staying is taken by the minor partner, Scotland, against the wishes of the major partner with over 85 per cent of the UK population?

"They will certainly be aggrieved. It may provoke a constitutional crisis with English folk quite rightly wanting to hold a referendum to dissolve the UK so that they can control their own destiny. And given the precedent of the Scottish vote, they will have every moral and constitutional right to do so."

Mr Wilson, who said in January that he was still considering how to vote in the EU referendum, said that the scenario would be an "undignified" way to win autonomy but "independence is independence and we shall just have to make the best of it."

He added: "With the polls showing the decision is on a knife edge, no sensible person can discount the outcome and the consequences. I have been around a long time. Radical change is rare. It can and does happen, usually from unforeseen consequences. With the SNP winning 56 MPs and Jeremy Corbyn being elected Labour leader, the planets may be in conjunction for change in the UK."

Ukip leader Nigel Farage, at his party's Scottish manifesto launch last week, was asked about the potential consequences of England voting out in the EU referendum but the overall result being to remain as a result of votes north of the border.

He said: "Ask me a week before the referendum. I'm not yet going to accept that potential outcome either way because I think in rough terms 50 per cent want to stay, 32 per cent want to leave, with those who have stated an opinion in Scotland. I think, have a proper debate in Scotland, and that gap will narrow and be pretty much the same as England."