Scottish Minister insists using pound if Scotland votes for Independence

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said an independent Scotland could not be prevented from using the pound, Xinhua news agency reported.

In an interview with Sky TV news, Salmond reiterated his desire to hold on to sterling and said the words about "being able to be vetoed from using the pound" was not true and no one could stop Scotland from using the pound.

He noted that it is sensible to hold on to sterling, adding that England is Scotland's biggest trading partner and second largest trading partner after the United States.

"There will be a common sense agreement for a common currency," Salmond said.

On Tuesday, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg published a joint vow to offer more powers to Scotland starting Sept 19 if there is a no vote in Thursday's Scottish independence referendum.

"People want to change. A no vote will deliver faster, safer and better change than separation," concluded the vow.

The 'Yes' campaign said that voters would not be fooled into voting to stay in Britain by the promise of greater powers and questioned why they had not been on offer before.

Official figures showed about 97 percent of those eligible to vote in Scotland signed up to vote in referendum as the independence poll is set to be the biggest poll in Scotland's history, with more people registered to vote than before.

The number of people who have registered for the referendum is about 4.29 million, more than for any previous election or referendum in Scotland according to the vote's chief counting officer.

In October 2012, Cameron and Salmond signed the Edinburgh Agreement, allowing Scotland to hold an independence referendum in autumn 2014 on "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

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