The House Of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee has concluded that the question "Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?" is "leading" and "biased toward towards a Yes answer".

In a report today entitled Do You Agree That This Is A Biased Question?, the committee has called on all parties to come together immediately to draft a "clear and neutral" question, which can then be put through "exhaustive" testing by the Electoral Commission.

Among the experts and institutions consulted were the Electoral Commission, Ipsos Mori, the NOtoAV Campaign, ICM Research, the Electoral Reform Society and referendum and policy experts.

The report stated: "Experts told us this was a leading question, biased towards a Yes answer.

"This is important because wording can affect the result of a referendum.

"This referendum must be, and be seen to be, fair and acceptable to those on both sides of the argument. It is essential the result commands wide acceptance."

The SNP administration put its proposed question out to public consultation in January, with the deadline for responses this Friday.

Jackson Carlaw, the Scottish Tories' deputy leader, said: "This interim report adds compelling testimony to support what most Scots instinctively knew – that Alex Salmond's proposed referendum question was unfair and biased."

Bruce Crawford, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Parliamentary Business, said: "Given that this committee can't even get the name of the Scottish Government's policy right, this exercise is devoid of credibility."