Boris holds talks with First Minister

BORIS Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon have agreed to make the coronavirus recovery their ‘immediate priority’.

The Prime Minister yesterday held talks with the SNP leader for the first time since her party’s election victory.

But Miss Sturgeon told Mr Johnson it is a ‘matter of when, not if’ another independence referendum takes place.

A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Johnson congratulated Miss Sturgeon on the election result. He added: ‘They both agreed that their immediate focus should be and is on working together to build back from the pandemic.

‘The Prime Minister stressed how recovery will be more effective if both governments work together.

‘He reiterated his invitation for the First Minister to join a summit to discuss our shared challenges on Covid recovery and how we can overcome them. The Prime Minister also discussed the green agenda and the COP26 [United Nations climate change] summit in Glasgow.’

Mr Johnson has called for a ‘Team UK’ approach to emerging from coronavirus after the SNP secured a fourth term in power at Holyrood.

A spokesman for Miss Sturgeon said: ‘The First Minister made clear that her immediate focus was on steering the country through Covid and into recovery, and that a newly elected Scottish Government would work with the UK Government as far as possible on that aim.’

He said they had agreed on working together on COP26.

But he added: ‘The FM made clear that the question of a referendum is now a matter of when, not if.’