'United Kingdom risks break-up'

UK: The existence of the United Kingdom in the future is in doubt in the light of pressure by the Scottish National Party (SNP) to secure Scotland's independence from Britain, the British top civil servant says.

Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell said the SNP is posing an "enormous challenge" to London to the point that questions are now hovering in the air about Britain's ability to keep the 1707 Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of scotland, which form the United Kingdom, in place.

"Over the next few years, there will be enormous challenges, such as whether to keep our kingdom united," O'Donnell told the Daily Telegraph.

The SNP led by Scottish first minister Alex Salmond won a landslide Scottish vote in 2011.

Independence from Britain has been one of SNP's main election pledges and the party has vowed to hold a referendum on the subject in either 2014 or 2015.

Salmond even promised earlier this week to join the Euro when Scotland gains independence, in a show of how serious SNP's intentions are.

This comes as the Scottish social attitudes survey, which is one of the most accredited public opinion tests in Britain, showed earlier this month that two thirds of the people in Scotland back independence from Britain.

The research by the Scottish Centre for Social Research found that 65 percent of Scotland's population would support independence if their country prospers economically without Britain's help.

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