The BBC is to suspend its membership of Britain's leading business lobby group after deciding on Thursday to join a number of organisations protesting over the CBI's move to officially campaign against Scottish independence, Reuters reported. The BBC and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) both issued statements saying the publicly-funded broadcaster would suspend its membership from the start of the official campaign period on May 30 until the independence referendum on Sept. 18. The broadcaster is one of a list of companies, public agencies and universities to sever ties with the CBI after it registered with the Electoral Commission to support the campaign to stop Scotland from leaving the United Kingdom. Organisations or individuals have to register if they want to spend more than 10,000 pounds ($16,800) and up to 150,000 pounds on campaigning during the official referendum period. The fallout highlights the growing divisions in Scotland over the referendum as opinion polls show the race tightening, although the pro-independence campaign remains behind. -- SPA 00:20 LOCAL TIME 21:20 GMT تغريد
