Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Andy Murray says 11th hour Scottish Independence tweet backing 'Yes' campaign is not something he 'would do again'

The Team GB tennis ace was questioned by the BBC over whether he regretted sharing which side of the debate he was backing ahead of the vote

Jenn Selby
Wednesday 24 September 2014 07:37 BST
Comments
Andy Murray pictured during his quarter-final defeat
Andy Murray pictured during his quarter-final defeat (GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

While Andy Murray wouldn’t take back sharing which side of the debate he was backing hours before Scottish Independence polls opened for voting, the Team GB tennis champion has admitted that it isn’t the type of overshare he’ll be making again soon.

Asked by the BBC whether he had any regrets over his ‘Yes’ vote tweet, he replied: “I don’t regret giving an opinion.

"I think everyone should be allowed that. The way I did it, yeah, it wasn’t something I would do again.

"I think it was a very emotional day for a lot of Scottish people and the whole country and the whole of the UK, it was a big day.

"The way it was worded, the way I sent it, that’s not really in my character and I don’t normally do stuff like that."

The Scottish athlete faced a barrage of abuse from users on Twitter after posting the message, sent out despite the fact, as a resident of Surrey, he couldn’t vote in the referendum himself.

His latest comments come after he confirmed he would still be representing Britain in the Davis Cup and at the next Olympics.

"I will be there in March," he told the Daily Mail on 19 September, after the ‘No’ vote result of the referendum had been announced. "As far as I'm concerned the vote doesn't change anything in that regard."

The campaign for and against Scottish independence had a particularly high turn-out – not just the 87 per cent who voted at the polls on 18 September, but of the famous faces who lent their signatures, careers and reputations to backing the ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ campaigns that preceded it.

Ultimately, it was the Better Together campaign that triumphed, preserving the nation’s 307-year-old union with England after a historic, record-breaking electoral referendum.

The result means David Cameron faces mounting pressure for constitutional change within Westminster, after he promised Scottish voters he would give them more power if they rejected independence.

It also saw scores of strident celebrity pro- and anti-Union voices desperately taking to Twitter with posts of patriotic pride or disappointment.

Find out what JK Rowling, Russell Brand, Nigel Farage and more had to say about the outcome here.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in