INDEPENDENCE should not lead to a hard border between Scotland and England, claim two customs experts working for left-wing, pro-independence think-tank Common Weal.

In a paper, detailed in today’s The National, Bill Austin and Peter Henderson say smart borders, using the latest technology, would address concerns about free movement of people if Scotland was to remain in the EU after the rest of the UK Brexits.

The report is part of Common Weal’s White Paper Project, the first draft of which was published earlier this week.

Austin and Henderson believe there is little real prospect of a hard border with passport control and stops, writing: “If the rest of UK were ever to propose such a thing they would have to set it up on their side of the border and all of the cost for establishing it would fall on them.”