CAMPAIGNERS urging Scots to back Britain's EU membership say they have learned from Better Together's mistakes and will present themselves as "Project Cheer" in the forthcoming In/Out referendum.

The campaign group Scotland Stronger in Europe has been launched in Edinburgh with the vote on Britain's EU membership potentially just four months away.

Part of the UK-wide Britain Stronger in Europe - which is set to become the official "In" campaign - the group will be non-party political and has vowed to make a "positive" case for staying in the EU.

It came as a new poll found 62 per cent of Scots were backing "In," compared with 26 per cent who wanted to leave the EU and 12 per cent who were unsure.

Across the UK, the Ipsos MORI survey for STV found 55 per cent said they would vote to stay while 36 per cent backing leaving the Brussels bloc, with with nine per cent unsure.

In a sign the vote could result in a second independence referendum, 54 per cent of Scots said they would vote to leave the UK if Scotland votes "In" but exits the EU after a UK-wide "Out" decision.

A further 39 per cent would vote to stay in the UK while seven per cent were don't-knows.

"Stronger In," as the new campaign will be known, will be chaired by Professor Mona Siddique, and led by an advisory panel made up largely of fellow academics and business leaders.

Professor Siddique, a familiar voice on 'Thought for the Day' on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, said: "The referendum result at UK level may well be extremely close, and Scotland’s votes could make the difference in delivering a vote to stay.

"By their very nature, referendums tend to be divisive, and that may be the case elsewhere in the UK.

"But in this referendum, Scotland has an opportunity to come together and lead the way in keeping the UK in Europe."

She said she would prefer a short campaign and a poll in June, despite SNP complaints it could interfere with the Holyrood election in May.

It is understood that focus groups have told the campaign that many people want to avoid a long, drawn out battle after the bruising experience of the independence referendum.

John Edward, the campaign's spokesman, said the campaign would make "a positive, fact-based case to remain in Europe".

He added: "At best I'd like to think it will be a Project Cheer. "We are going to be upbeat about this.

"This is not to give scare stories."

An insider, who also worked with Better Together, said lessons had been learned from the pro-UK group whose campaign to keep Scotland in the UK was dubbed "Project Fear" for being too negative.

Asked how Stronger In would do things differently, he replied: "How long have you got?"

Though campaigners were keen to set a more upbeat tone, many of their arguments for staying in the EU echoed Better Together's case for Scotland remaining part of the UK.

Professor Sir Harry Burns, the former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland said EU rules on medicines and air and water quality had saved lives.

He added: "That is something that transcends borders."

Another advisory group member, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the boss of Edinburgh-based Virgin Money, warned that uncertainty over the referendum was damaging investment in Scotland.

Jack Montgomery, Scottish spokesman for Leave.EU, one of the "Out" campaigns, said: "The launch was shambolic

"John Edward promised a ‘positive, upbeat’ pitch, but a litany of laughable scare stories was all he could deliver, with Brexit supposedly threatening jobs, influence, workers’ rights and, incredibly, even public health."