DURING a phone call with Boris Johnson today, the First Minister told him a second independence referendum is a case of "when - not if".

Following a telephone call between Nicola Sturgeon and the Prime Minister this afternoon, she thanked him for his congratulations on her re-election.

A spokesman for the First Minister said she made clear that her immediate focus was on steering the country through Covid and into recovery, and that a newly elected Scottish Government would work with the UK Government as far as possible on that aim.

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He added: “They also agreed the importance of the two governments working together closely and constructively to achieve a successful hosting of and outcome from Cop26.

“The First Minister also re-iterated her intention to ensure that the people of Scotland can choose our own future when the crisis is over, and made clear that the question of a referendum is now a matter of when – not if.”

Meanwhile, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said the SNP’s threat to legislate for a referendum without Westmister consent was a non-starter, as the Scottish Government’s own law officers wouldn’t approve any Bill that was beyond Holyrood’s current competence.