Hague: 'Brexit' would risk leading to break-up of UK and 'gravely weaken' Europe

Voting for Britain to leave the European Union would risk leading to the break-up of the United Kingdom, while "gravely weakening" the continent's future security, senior Conservative William Hague has warned.

The former foreign secretary argued that Scottish nationalists - who have already indicated they may want to stay in Europe with or without the rest of the UK - would "jump" at the chance to hold a second independence referendum should the upcoming referendum result in a vote to exit the EU.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Lord Hague said while he had been a vocal critic of the EU in the past for its "clumsy bureaucracy and failed ideas", he recognised that it had been able to provide structure and standards for new democracies springing up out of "decades of tyranny and tragedy".

The UK's exit would undermine the strengths of the continent, he added - insisting that while he remained sceptical of the "remote, expensive and over-regulating" EU, it was "manifestly not in our interests" for it to fall apart.