Nicola Sturgeon questions if Boris Johnson's letter dismissing indyref2 will be his 'last act as PM'

Boris Johnson has formally rejected a call from Nicola Sturgeon for Holyrood to be given the power to hold a second Scottish independence vote.

Ms Sturgeon shared the letter from the embattled leader, tweeting that it could be one of Mr Johnson’s 'last acts as Prime Minister.'

In a letter to Scotland's First Minister, Mr Johnson said he had “carefully considered” her indyref2 request.

But he insisted that he could “not agree that now is the time to return to a question which was clearly answered by the people of Scotland in 2014”.

The letter comes in the wake of a series of resignations from government ministers at Westminster, as a growing number of Tories urge the PM to quit.

Ms Sturgeon insisted in her tweet: “To be clear, Scotland will have the opportunity to choose independence – I hope in a referendum on 19 October 2023 but if not, through a general election.”

Mr Johnson told her in his letter, dated Wednesday (6 July): “I have carefully considered the arguments you set out for a transfer of power from the UK Parliament to the Scottish Parliament to hold another referendum on independence.

“As our country faces unprecedented challenges at home and abroad, I cannot agree that now is the time to return to a question, which was clearly answered by the people of Scotland in 2014.”

Mr Johnson continued: “Our shared priorities must be to respond effectively to the global cost-of-living challenge, to support our NHS and public services as they recover from the huge disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, and to play our leading part in the international response to Russian aggression in Ukraine.

“These are common challenges across the United Kingdom, which deserve our full attention.”

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