Sterling has already tumbled sharply on fears over a split with Scotland which is decided this Thursday, but Miton’s George Godber has warned it could fall much further if the vote for independence wins.

Speaking this morning, almost 22 years to the day since Black Wednesday when the pound tumbled after being forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, Godber said sterling could tumble to a multi-year low against the dollar very rapidly.

“Sterling has already been very weak in the run-up to the Scotland vote – we’ve seen it fall from $1.72 to $1.62,” he told BBC Radio 4.

“If Scotland were to vote to be independent I would expect a very significant fall in sterling. Maybe as much as 10 per cent over a week or so.”

Sterling has already retreated sharply following recent poll data showing a vote on Scotland’s future is very close.

While a fall of 10 per cent in a week would be substantial to say the least, Godber said something of that magnitude should be expected because of the UK’s reliance on foreign capital.

“The UK is an internationally funded economy. We import more than we export and that is balanced by external investment,” he said.

“We are seen as a global safe haven and that will be questioned by external investors [in the event of a yes vote].”

Other commentators have voiced similar concerns for sterling in the event of a ‘yes’ vote.

Société Générale’s Albert Edwards said this week: “For the UK as a whole the current account deficit is awful. For the UK it is simply untenable. If investors are selling sterling in anticipation of a Yes vote, the economic reality of a rump UK will see sterling quite rightly plunge into the abyss way before the end of the economic cycle.”