Scottish vote likely in 'autumn 2018'

Scotland could hold an independence referendum in the autumn of 2018, just months before Britain is due to leave the European Union, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC, and a second poll in a month suggested rising support for secession.

The prospect of an independence vote in Scotland that could rip apart the United Kingdom just months before an EU exit adds to the complexity of negotiations on Britain's departure from the European Union.

Scotland's threat of a second independence vote in four years also raises the pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May as she prepares to trigger formal exit negotiations with the other 27 members of the European Union over the UK's divorce terms.

Sturgeon said autumn 2018 would be a "common sense time" for Scotland to hold another independence referendum, once there is some outline of a deal to exit the European Union.

No decision has yet been taken on a vote, she added.

Up to now, most polls show support for independence in Scotland has barely shifted from around 45 percent since 2014.

However, a poll by Ipsos MORI on Thursday showed that among those likely to vote, support for independence had risen to 50 percent, a 2 percent increase in support for independence compared to Ipsos Mori's last poll.

They surveyed 1,029 people by telephone between Feb 24 and March 6.

On Feb 8, a BMG survey for Herald Scotland indicated 49 percent of Scots backed independence, up from 45.5 percent a month earlier.

Under the UK's constitutional conventions, an independence vote would have to be approved by May's government which on Thursday repeated it saw no need for a second ballot.

The results of the June 23 Brexit referendum called the future of the UK into question because England and Wales voted to leave the EU but Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay.