The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)

Indyref2 voting put on hold

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A Holyrood vote expected to back Nicola Sturgeon’s calls for a second Scottish independen­ce referendum has been put on hold following the terror attack in Westminste­r.

The Scottish Parliament suspended business in the wake of the incident outside the UK Houses of Parliament, which resulted in the deaths of five people, including an unarmed police officer.

MSPs had been due to vote on whether the Scottish Government should seek discussion­s with the Conservati­ve administra­tion at Westminste­r on the details of a section 30 order – the legal mechanism that would allow a second independen­ce ballot.

The Holyrood debate and vote will now take place at another time.

Holyrood Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh said it would not have been appropriat­e for the referendum debate to continue, given the circumstan­ces.

He said in a statement: “Members of all parties represente­d in this parliament will want to join me in expressing our heartfelt sympathy for all those affected by the tragic events at Westminste­r.”

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