SIR Mick Jagger has defended his decision to back the Better Together campaign during the Scottish Independence referendum in 2014 and said he is pleased the "Union still exists".

Speaking ahead of what is thought to be The Rolling Stones' 'farewell tour', the frontman said he felt it "was better for everyone to stick together".

Sir Mick Jagger, Dame Judi Dench and Stephen Hawking were among 200 public figures from sport, cinema, television and literature who wrote an open letter to the people of Scotland in advance of the independence vote saying: “Let’s stay together".

Other signatories included Helena Bonham Carter, the actress, Tom Daley, the Olympian, and singers Dame Vera Lynn and Sir Cliff Richard.

The letter stated: “We want to let you know how very much we value our bonds of citizenship with you, and to express our hope that you will vote to renew them.

In an interview with the Sunday Post Mr Jagger said: "Both England and Scotland are not huge countries, so I thought we were better together than apart.

"It was just my opinion and lots of people disagreed with it.

"I just felt strongly enough about it to put my name on that.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with me saying what I said.

"I'm not Scottish and I don't have pretensions to be. I'm not looking in my ancestry to find an excuse to be Scottish. I just felt that was the way to go forward and that was the majority view in the end. In a way, I'm pleased the Union still exists."

The Rolling Stones will play Murrayfield stadium in Edinburgh on June 9.

The rockers will perform on home turf in May and June for two concerts in London as well as gigs in Manchester and Cardiff.

They will also make stops in Dublin, Berlin, Marseille, Stuttgart, Prague and Warsaw.