Tony Abbott has made the most pointed intervention yet by a foreign leader

Scottish independence would be a victory for the enemies of freedom and justice, the Australian prime minister has said in the most pointed intervention yet by a foreign leader in the independence debate.

A win by the Yes campaign would be cheered abroad by countries that opposed British values and influence, while an independent Scotland would make little positive impact on the world stage, Tony Abbott told The Times.

“It’s hard to see how the world would be helped by an independent Scotland,” Mr Abbott said in London after visiting the Netherlands to meet families of those who died on the Malaysia Airlines jet shot down over Ukraine last month.

“I think that the people who would like to see the break-up of the