LATEST: With 29 of the 32 council areas in
Scotland now declared, No leads on 55% with Yes on 45%
Salmond takes to the skies after pulling the
plug on a planned appearance at his local count in Aberdeenshire
Clackmannanshire - rated most likely to vote
Yes by Credit Suisse - rejected independence in first result of the
night
Yes wins in Dundee, Glasgow, North
Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire, but is trailling by 200,000 votes
Allegations of 10 electoral fraud cases in
Glasgow as voters 'turn up to polling station to find they had already voted'
Thousands of Yes campaigners in Glasgow's
George Square waving Saltires and burning flares - but some
arrested
David Cameron to address the nation early on
Friday morning to set out ways to 'rebalance' power across the UK
The Queen is following events 'closely' and
will make a statement tomorrow in response to the public's decision
A former St Helens councillor was charged
with assault as she campaigned against Scottish independence in Glasgow
Tennis
champion Andy Murray rows back from pro-independence tweet, insisting he will
still play for Team GB
Better Together leader Alistair Darling today said he was 'humbled' by the level of support for the United Kingdom, as the people of Scotland overwhelmingly rejected Alex Salmond's lifelong push for independence.
Mr Darling hailed an 'extraordinary
night' in which 55 per cent of people voted against separation, with just 45
per cent in favour.
In the early hours, Mr Salmond shunned
the cameras to board a private jet from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, contemplating
the comprehensive failure of his efforts to destroy the 307-year-old Union.
But in a message posted on Twitter he
praised the city of Glasgow, one of the few places to vote in favour of
independence, and 'the people of Scotland for such a incredible support'.
He hoped to triumph in one of the most
extraordinary political battles in British history, but the determination of
the people of Scotland means the United Kingdom remains in tact, and Mr Salmond
faces the grim prospect of being forced out of office. He will make a public
statement at 6.20am.
Turnout has topped 90 per cent in
pro-Union areas, but in the key working-class areas where Yes needed big wins,
turnout dropped to the mid-70s.
Mr Cameron will seek to exploit the
result with an early morning television address today, holding out the prospect
of Scottish MPs being excluded from voting on English affairs.
As a Yes campaign rally in George
Square in Glasgow fizzled out, officials in the city launched an investigation
into 10 cases of suspected electoral fraud at polling stations.
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