Britain's international reputation will be damaged if Scotland becomes independent in a referendum next year, a powerful committee of lawmakers warned in a report published on Wednesday. A split with Scotland would reduce Britain's influence in the European Union and reinforce the view that it is a world power in irreversible decline, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said. The Scottish government described the report as "partisan" and said the committee only comprised members who are opposed to Scottish independence.

British finance minister George Osborne cast doubt Sunday on whether Scotland could keep the pound as its currency if voters opt for independence in a referendum next year. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said a currency union could only work as part of a political and economic union, as he made his case against a separate Scotland ahead of a key report on the issue this week. A referendum is set for September 18, 2014, when Scottish voters will be asked the yes/no question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond on Wednesday suggested that Margaret Thatcher gave a bigger boost to the Scottish independence movement than even Mel Gibson's 1995 film "Braveheart." "I don't think it would be unfair to say her legacy in Scotland was to vastly increase support for a Scottish parliament," Salmond said, in response to a question about the late British prime minister, who died on Monday.

Laws affecting only England should typically be backed by a majority of English MPs sitting in the British parliament, said a report published Monday that attempts to solve a decades-old conundrum. The McKay Commission was charged by the government with examining the current set-up, whereby Members of Parliament representing seats in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can vote on matters that affect only England and not their constituents. The commission's report acknowledged this was seen as "an anomaly which is unfair to people in England".