LONDON: A couple who won a record EuroMillions jackpot in 2011 are bankrolling the campaign for Scottish independence, contributing £2.5m ($4.2m) in the past year, the campaign said yesterday.
Colin and Christine Weir, from Largs near Glasgow, won ¤185m (then $260m) in July 2011, becoming Europe’s biggest ever lottery winners. New figures show that since April 1, 2013, the Weirs each contributed £1.25m (¤1.53m) to the campaign for a “Yes” vote in September’s referendum, in addition to their £1m donation the previous year.
Their contribution makes up the vast majority of the £3.15m received by the campaign in the past year. Another 11,000 people have made donations. “We greatly appreciate and are hugely encouraged by the thousands of people across Scotland who have made donations — both large and small — according to their financial means,” Yes Scotland Chief Executive Blair Jenkins said.
A poll tracker devised by the Financial Times suggests the gap is narrowing between the two campaigns although the “No” camp has a nine-point lead, with 15 percent undecided. Reuters
