Nicola Sturgeon has been urged to bar English students, armed forces personnel and second-home owners based in Scotland from voting in a second independence referendum, the responses to an official consultation have disclosed.

A Scottish Government report analysing the responses to the SNP government’s draft Referendum Bill raised concerns by some who had submitted their views that those who has been “resident for a temporary or short period of time” would get a vote.

These include “students from England or other countries”, members of the British armed forces based north of the Border and those “who own holiday homes in Scotland.”

Some responses argued that personnel in the Army, Royal Air Force or Royal Navy based at one of Scotland's many military bases should only get a vote if they were born in Scotland or their families were based there.

The report was slipped out by the Scottish Government in the final hours before MSPs started their two-month summer recess. It followed Ms Sturgeon’ s decision this week to press ahead with her referendum plan, albeit after her original spring 2019 timescale, despite the SNP’s General Election mauling.

Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader used an interview with the latest edition of the in-house Commons magazine to state he has “no doubt” another referendum will happen and the only question is the timing.