BORIS Johnson has insisted the 2012 Olympics and its appeal to Britishness will have cost Alex Salmond his dream of an independent Scotland.
The London Mayor's comment came as he asked for his view during a Twitter exchange on the independence referendum planned for Autumn 2014, and followed London 2012 double gold winner Sir Chris Hoy's statement during the Games that he was proud to be both Scottish and British.
The Conservative replied: "The Scots are never going to vote for independence. These Games have done for Salmond. Vote Hoy.
"'I'm Scottish and I'm British, you can be both. They're not mutually exclusive but it's frustrating because as an athlete all you want to do is race and be the best you can and not get dragged into politics'."
Mr Salmond, who dubbed Scottish athletes at the Olympics "Scolympians", has said he is confident these will be the last Games when the nation will compete under the Union flag.
It came as Scottish Secretary Michael Moore accused the First Minister of wobbling on independence and challenged him to show the strength of his convictions by confirming that he will agree to just one question on the referendum ballot paper.
His provocative move came as Whitehall sources expressed exasperation at the time it was taking Mr Salmond to announce his preferred way forward, suggesting there was a "major rift" within the SNP Cabinet.
However, this was strongly denied by a senior SNP Government source who told The Herald: "The Scottish Cabinet is as united as the UK Cabinet is divided on just about every issue under the sun.
"We are moving forward in partnership and in consultation with the people. The crucial point Michael Moore needs to accept is that Scotland's referendum must be made in Scotland and decided by Scotland's Parliament – including the issue of a possible 'more powers' option."
In his speech to the National Business Convention in Edinburgh, the Scottish Secretary claimed this was a historic moment for the SNP Government as it could at long last put to Scottish voters "the Nationalists' raison d'etre, cherished for over 70 years".
He added: "An odd moment for them to have second thoughts. Do they want the single question referendum on independence they pledged in their manifesto or do they want to muddy the waters with a separate question on devolution?"
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