‘Desperate’ Sturgeon’s bid to make it all about Indyref

NICOLA Sturgeon has launched a ‘desperate’ attempt to claim Boris Johnson’s resignation was proof Scotland should be independent.

The First Minister said yesterday his tenure in Downing Street shows that the ‘Westminster system is broken’ and it is time to decide whether Scotland should split from the UK.

She said she would ‘relish’ a general election being called and would put independence front and centre of her campaign – although she conceded that a snap vote is unlikely.

Scottish Nationalist MPs have also privately suggested the party could seek to turn any snap election into a ‘de facto referendum’ – even though the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether Miss Sturgeon can legally legislate for another vote without the consent of the UK Government. Miss Sturgeon said: ‘The problems run much deeper than one individual. The Westminster system is broken.’

Asked by the BBC if she would turn any snap election into a vote on independence, Miss Sturgeon said she would ‘fight as leader of the SNP’ on the basis of ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’

Scottish Conservative chief whip Stephen Kerr accused the SNP of ‘desperation’ for stepping up calls for a referendum. He added: ‘Are the Nats worried that with the PM out of office, their core argument goes too?’