Sturgeon has deep ‘concerns’ as she claims a boost for Indyref 2

THE case for an independence referendum has been boosted by Boris Johnson’s victory, Nicola Sturgeon claimed last night.

The First Minister said she had ‘profound concerns’ about the prospect of Mr Johnson leading the UK and demanded that he grant the Scottish Government powers for another independence vote.

Just minutes after Mr Johnson was formally announced as the new Conservative leader, Miss Sturgeon issued a statement making clear her continued bid to break up the UK.

Last night Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson hit back, insisting that Scottish independence was not about ‘personalities’.

Recent polls show Scots would be more supportive of independence with Mr Johnson as Prime Minister, with as many as 60 per cent of voters claiming they would vote to leave the UK if there was a No Deal Brexit.

In an interview on Radio Clyde, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘It becomes more important now even than it was yesterday for Scotland to have the ability to choose its own future.

‘Let’s just take a look at the situation we now find ourselves in. We face being taken out of the EU. We didn’t vote for that. We’ve got a Conservative Westminster Government that we didn’t vote for, and we certainly didn’t vote for Boris Johnson as Prime Minister. All of this is being imposed on Scotland against our will and I think Scotland deserves the right to decide whether that is what it wants or whether, instead, it wants to choose its own future through independence.’

Although Miss Sturgeon said she wished to ‘congratulate’ Mr Johnson on his election as Tory leader, she claimed it would be ‘hypocritical’ not to voice her ‘profound concerns about the prospect of his premiership’.

Miss Davidson told BBC Scotland: ‘People understand that a 300-year-old union isn’t decided by the personalities of the day, whether that is Alex Salmond, who was a Marmite politician, or whether that is Boris Johnson, who arguably some people could say the same [about].’