Salmond Clashes with London over Referendum

LONDON — Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond fuelled a tense constitutional clash with London on Wednesday, insisting that his government can organise its own independence referendum in 2014.
London announced on Tuesday it would give Edinburgh legal powers to hold a vote on a break-up of the 300-year-old union, but said it would be unlawful unless done with London's approval of the timescale and conditions.
But Salmond -- a nationalist who is widely regarded as one of the sharpest political operators in the British Isles -- has announced plans for Scotland to hold its own referendum in the autumn of 2014, on its own terms.