Downing Street holds all the cards

SIR, – So the rumour mill suggests Nicola Sturgeon, in her long-awaited announcement on indyref2, will put her plans on hold.

This is nonsensical on two counts. Firstly, the SNP's raison d'etre is to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK and Ms Sturgeon will never cease in her relentless pursuit of this goal – whatever she claims in public.

Secondly, Scottish Secretary David Mundell has made clear there will be no further separation vote before the next Holyrood election in 2021. And then only if – and it's a big if – there's a separatist majority in Holyrood. Downing Street holds all the cards – not the nationalists.

Ms Sturgeon's stated views, while always entertaining, are, in this regard at least, utterly irrelevant. Martin Redfern, Merchiston Gardens, Edinburgh