Scotland rEfErEndum low priority, says Boris

AN independence referendum is at the very bottom of Boris Johnson’s plans, as he urged Nicola Sturgeon to focus on Scotland’s Covid recovery.

The Prime Minister said constitutional change is “as far from the top of [his] agenda as it is possible to be” during his two-day stay north of the border.

Ms Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister, is to relaunch her campaign for a new separation vote next month, aiming to secure one by the end of 2023.

But the PM insisted the UK must prioritise “bouncing back together” from Covid. He added: “The emphasis, I think, has got to be on economic recovery, and I think constitutional change is not top of my agenda…about as far from the top of my agenda as it is possible to be.”

Mr Johnson would not be drawn on Cabinet minister Michael Gove’s recent comments that a vote would happen if it was the “settled will” of Scots.