SCOTLAND will become an independent country as a result of the shock Brexit result, Alex Salmond has predicted.

The former SNP leader made the forecast after two opinion polls showed a majority of Scots now back the break-up of the UK.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon: Holyrood could block Brexit

Earlier Nicola Sturgeon said that the Britain that Scots had voted to remain a part of in 2014 “does not exist anymore”.

The First Minister also warned that Scottish politicians could try to veto the UK’s EU exit.

She said that she would "of course" urge MSPs to refuse if Holyrood was asked to give its consent to legislation required to leave.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon: Holyrood could block Brexit

She also warned the next Conservative Prime Minister against any attempt to block a second independence referendum.

Today the Chancellor George Osborne will try to calm fears in the City amid concerns of more bloodshed on the financial markets.

Last night Conservative business minister Anna Soubry warned that attempts to save tens of thousands of UK steel jobs had been put in jeopardy by the Brexit result.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon: Holyrood could block Brexit

HSBC was also reported to be planning to move up to 1,000 staff to Paris if the UK leaves the single market.

The pound dropped to its lowest level in 30 years and £100bn was wiped off the values of the UK’s largest companies in the immediate aftermath of the referendum result on Friday.

Ministers fear that there could be more turmoil today as the ramifications of the vote kick in.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon: Holyrood could block Brexit

The Bank of England governor Mark Carney announced £250bn worth of aid for the economy on Friday.

But he said that the bank would not hesitate to act if it thought that more help was needed.

As the shockwaves continued to ripple across the continent, Berlin asked the UK to 'reconsider'.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will today (MON) host an emergency meeting with other European leaders to discuss the Brexit vote, just 24 hours before David Cameron is due to attend an EU summit.

Some European leaders have called for negotiations on the terms of the UK’s exit to begin immediately.

But the Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond indicated that the UK would resist pressure from Brussels and other EU countries to start negotiations before a new Prime Minister is in place.

Meanwhile, a senior German politician and ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Gunther Krichbaum, predicted that an independent Scotland would soon be a member of the EU.

He was quoted as saying: "The EU will still have 28 members because I'm counting on a new independence referendum in Scotland which will be successful. We should quickly reply to an application from an EU friendly country."

In a special live edition of the BBC’s Question Time, Mr Salmond was asked if he thought that the outcome of the EU referendum was that Scotland would leave the UK.

“Yes,” he replied.

He added: “ (Former Prime Minister) John Major said exactly that during the campaign. We cannot have our country taken out of Europe against the express will of our people.”

Ms Sturgeon has announced plans to seek talks with EU institutions and other EU member states.

The First Minister also said that MSPs could refuse to back Westminster legislation taking the UK out of EU law.

The idea was first raised by Sir David Edward, a former European Court judge.

Aspects of EU law are embedded in the Scotland Act which created the Scottish Parliament.

By convention, MPs must ask Holyrood’s permission to legislate in devolved areas.

But the scenario was dismissed by the Scottish Secretary David Mundell.

He said that politicians needed to wait "to see” what mechanisms would be used to leave the EU.

“I personally don't believe the Scottish Parliament is in position to block Brexit," he added.

A Panelbase survey for the Sunday Times put support for independence on 52 per cent, with 48 per cent against, when undecideds were excluded.

An online poll for the Sunday Post by ScotPulse, which is not a member of UK’s polling body, the British Polling Council, found that 59 per cent would vote Yes to independence, with 32 per cent backing No and the rest unsure.

Ms Sturgeon also said that she would “caution” the next Conservative Prime Minister not to block a second independence vote.

Leading Brexit advocate Boris Johnson and the Home Secretary Theresa May are among those widely tipped to announce their leadership bid this week.

The legal power to hold a binding vote currently resides with Westminster.

But Ms Sturgeon has called for the power to be transferred to Holyrood in the wake of the Brexit result.

She also rejected suggestions that the EU had already ruled out her calls for separate Scottish talks.

It was not right to say “anyone in Brussels has turned anything down”, she told the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme.

She admitted that she did not know what the outcome of those talks might be as she was pressed on issues including what currency an independent Scotland would use and the possibility of a European border between Scotland and England.