FORMER Business Secretary Vince Cable has softened his opposition to independence stating that he now has "mixed" feelings about it due to the "dreadful mistakes" being made during the Brexit process.
The Liberal Democrat grandee suggested he had more sympathy with the case for an independent Scotland, as he confirmed he was standing in the election for rector of the University of Glasgow.
He told the Sunday Herald he had accepted nominations to stand just days after Glasgow human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar announced his candidature for the post.
Cable played a significant role in the campaign against independence when he was one of the most senior Lib Dem members of the coalition government at Westminster. He made a number of campaigns visits to Scotland, where he called on voters to reject independence.
However, he lost his parliamentary seat at the 2015 General Election,as the Lib Dems suffered an electoral meltdown north and south of the Border.
Cable said he now viewed the case for independence differently in the wake of the EU referendum, when Scots backed remain but were outvoted by the UK as a whole.
The former Twickenham MP said he would be running a non-political campaign at the university where he was a student and where he worked as a lecturer.
Cable, who once served as a Labour councillor in Glasgow before later defecting from the party, said it was about "ensuring students are properly represented".
However, when asked about the issue of independence, he said: "I've got mixed feelings on it now. That's a fair summary of it.
"Post Brexit I can understand why people feel that way, with the dreadful mistakes that are being made [over Brexit]."
However, Cable said he would not be campaigning on the independence issue. He also refused to say whether he may eventually decide to back independence, saying, "I'm not getting involved in that. I did last time because I was a member of the government."
Nominations for the post closed on Friday and elections will be held on March 20 and 21.
The winner will succeed former NSA security contractor Edward Snowden.
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