THE SNP has been accused of “manipulating” polling figures after claiming Brexit will deliver a majority in favour of Scottish independence.
Pro-union campaigners hit out after the Nationalists said a survey showed 51.39 per cent would now back Yes.
The interpretation was dismissed by Survation, the company which carried out the research questioning 1,725 people in Scotland as part of a wider Brexit survey.
Keith Brown, the SNP’s deputy leader, said the "chaos and despair" of Brexit had resulted in a "significant swell in support for Scotland taking all decisions over our future for ourselves".
Meanwhile, party strategist Ross Colquhoun tweeted the "figures would mean a majority of 51.39% for independence, with 48.61% against".
However Survation appeared to take issue with this. It responded: “Sorry to disappoint @rosscolquhoun, but there isn't a headline Scotland voting intention in tonight's tables (Scotland was not weighted separately, so calculating the Westminster crossbreak for Scotland does not get you there). There is also no Scottish independence referendum voting intention.”
The company polled 20,000 adults across every constituency in the UK to discover what people thought about Brexit for a special Channel 4 programme.
As part of this, it asked Scots how Brexit would affect their vote in an independence referendum.
A total of 37.8% said they were now more likely to back leaving the UK, including just over 26% who were "much more likely" to do so.
Meanwhile, 25.4% said they were more likely to vote No, while 30.6% said they were neither more nor less likely and 6.2% did not know.
The SNP said if that was applied to the result of the 2014 referendum – in which Scots voted by 55% to 45% to stay in the union – it could result in a 51.39% vote for independence, with 48.61% against.
Pamela Nash, chief executive of the pro-UK campaign group Scotland in Union, said there would be “red faces all around at SNP HQ” after Survation's intervention.
She added: "This desperate attempt to manipulate a poll has backfired and SNP deputy leader Keith Brown should apologise and set the record straight.
"The SNP is weaponising Brexit to focus on the only thing it cares about - independence.
"This is an important reminder for Remain voters in Scotland that the Nationalists want to use your vote to break up the UK. Whatever your views on Brexit, independence is not the answer."
An SNP spokesman said: "As the chaos and despair at Westminster's handling of Brexit continues, more and more people are drawn to the hope for the future that independence offers.
"This poll is extremely encouraging for the SNP, but must make dire reading for Labour and the Tories. No wonder they're so riled and in complete denial of the fact that support for independence is on the rise."
The party said the Survation study showed Scotland as a country was more supportive of immigration than the rest of the UK.
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