Scotland’s vote ‘moves in direction of Yes’

The battle for Scotland’s future is on a knife edge but is "moving in the direction of Yes", the country’s deputy first minister said, as two separate polls gave the No campaign the narrowest of leads.

However, Nicola Sturgeon said: “The only poll that really matters is the one next week. We’re now within a few days of finding out what people really think through real votes and ballot boxes.”

She made the comments as a Guardian/ICM poll put support for Scotland staying in the UK at 51%, ahead of 49% backing for independence when undecided voters are excluded.