THE GREAT NATIONALIST DIVIDE

First Minister refuses to rule out a hard border with England

NICOLA Sturgeon has refused to rule out a hard border dividing Scotland from the rest of the UK if she succeeds in breaking up Britain.

In a major shift of position, the SNP leader appeared to concede that border controls might need to be set up.

Opponents seized on the comments and pointed out that tearing Scotland out of the UK would present a major obstacle to its most valuable trading relationship.

The comments came on the first day of the SNP’s conference in Aberdeen, where the party bids to step up its battle for a second ‘Scexit’ referendum.

Party leaders also revealed that the SNP may not back a possible Labour amendment demanding a second EU referendum on any Brexit deal – despite spending most of the year demanding another vote. They plan instead to push for a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson and a general election first.

The SNP’s White Paper on independence, published ahead of the 2014 referendum, specifically stated that there would be no border controls because a separate Scotland would still be in the common travel area, alongside the rest of the UK.

However, on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Miss Sturgeon was asked whether there would be a ‘serious border’ if England left the EU then Scotland separated. She said: ‘Well look, I don’t want borders, it’s not my choice.

‘But again, we have to take these things step by step. I’m opposed to the Brexit policy. It is not my choice to have policies that result in borders.’

She added: ‘What I’m not going to do is to try to speculate and answer questions on the basis of detail that we don’t yet have and a scenario that we don’t yet know the nature of.

‘I will always be frank and honest with people in Scotland about the choices I’m asking them to make. One of the things I am determined about is the choice that Scotland will make on independence will be an informed and detailed one.

‘We won’t plaster lies on the side of a bus and cross our fingers and hope we get away with it.’

Asked directly if it is ‘obvious’ that there would have to be a border, she said: ‘We need to see how things play out and what the final relationship between the UK and the EU will be.

‘I am not of the view that what you’ve described as what Boris Johnson wants is an inevitability and I will continue to argue against that. But as that picture clarifies, I will be honest with the people of Scotland, but that opens a situation where Scotland’s best interests depend on being independent and in charge of our own future.’

She added that it was not her party’s policy to put borders anywhere.

Miss Sturgeon insisted after the 2016 EU referendum that there would not need to be a hard border between Scotland and England. Jackson Carlaw, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon’s acceptance that Scottish independence will most likely lead to a border with England is a dramatic shift.

‘Up until now the Nationalists have refused to accept this as even a possibility but they can see they are fooling no one. Sturgeon must now continue to be “honest” and admit that separation from the UK would lead to extreme austerity, hard borders with England and damage to public services.’

The SNP also confirmed that its MPs will now only support a second EU referendum if it happens after a general election.

Her comments came as senior Labour MPs said they could attempt to force a vote in the Commons in the coming days in a bid to secure a referendum.

But the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford told delegates that he has prepared a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson.

In his conference speech yesterday, Mr Blackford said: ‘We must take the power out of Boris Johnson’s hands – and put it back in the hands of the people.

‘So I can announce today – the SNP has prepared a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson and this Tory government.

‘We will not play Boris Johnson’s games and give in to his demands. But after years of Brexit crisis and chaos, the only option – the only option that truly puts a stop to this chaos – is to call a general election.

‘So, conference, it’s time for Jeremy Corbyn and Jo Swinson to step out of the sand pit and step up to the job.’

‘Nationalists can see they are fooling no one’