Party threatens Supreme Court action over plans for Indyref 2

THE SNP will consider taking its bid for another independence referendum to Britain’s top court, a senior minister has said.

Constitution Secretary Mike Russell said he is ‘open’ to a plan proposed by MP Joanna Cherry to take the case for a referendum all the way to the Supreme Court if the UK Government continues to refuse to approve it.

Miss Cherry said at the weekend that if there is a pro-independence majority at next year’s Holyrood elections then the SNP should go ahead with legislation to hold a referendum. She said this would lead to an ‘inevitable’ legal challenge which would ‘undoubtedly’ end up in the UK Supreme Court.

It comes as the SNP’s conference yesterday passed a resolution instructing its National Assembly to discuss ‘alternative routes to secure a legal referendum’.

Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: ‘While a virus is taking lives, the Nationalists are spending their time debating how to divide Scotland.’