Nicola Sturgeon: Scotland could block Brexit

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has suggested that the Scottish parliament could veto Brexit by blocking the passage of legislation necessary for the UK to leave the European Union.

Asked whether she would consider asking the Scottish parliament to vote down the legislative consent motions required for the legislation that would block the UK from leaving the European Union, Sturgeon said “of course”.

“If the Scottish Parliament was judging this on the basis of what's right for Scotland then the option of saying look we're not to vote for something that's against Scotland's interest, that's got to be on the table. You’re not going to vote for something that is not in Scotland’s interests,” Sturgeon said.

Sturgeon, whose party has 63 of the 129 Scottish Parliament seats, said: “The issue you are talking about is would there have to be a legislative consent motion or motions for the legislation that extricates the UK from the European Union?”

“Looking at it from a logical perspective, I find it hard to believe that there wouldn't be that requirement - I suspect that the UK government will take a very different view on that and we'll have to see where that discussion ends up.”

Asked if she could imagine the fury of English people who voted for Brexit if Scotland tried to block the UK leaving the EU, she said: “I can but it’s perhaps similar to the fury of many people in Scotland right now as we face the prospect of being taken out of the EU against their will. I didn’t create these situations. I’m trying to navigate the best way forward through them.”

However, David Mundell, the Secretary of State for Scotland, said he “personally” did not believe that Scotland could block Brexit.

“What we need to see is the legal mechanism that we go through to get to a situation of the UK leaving. personally don't believe the Scottish Parliament is in position to block Brexit.”

“We have to respect the result on Thursday, even if we don't like it - it was a UK wide vote - it was a vote by people across the UK,” he said.

Earlier on Sunday, Nicola Sturgeon said she will lobby EU member states directly for support in ensuring that Scotland can remain part of the European Union, after Scots voted emphatically against Brexit on Thursday.

The referendum results saw Britain vote by 52% to 48% to leave the European Union; but in Scotland, the picture was entirely different, as 62% of voters backed the Remain camp. And now, the Scottish First Minister said she planned to begin immediate discussions with the European commission to “protect Scotland’s relationship with the EU and our place in the single market”.

Sturgeon also cautioned any future Conservative prime minster against blocking a second referendum on Scottish independence, as she entrenched her position on Scotland’s continued membership of the EU.

Surgeon also said that if a second independence referendum is held, prompted by the UK-wide vote to leave the EU on Thursday despite every local authority in Scotland voting to remain, it would not be “a re-run of the 2014 referendum”.

“The context and the circumstances have changed dramatically. The UK that Scotland voted to remain within in 2014 doesn’t exist anymore.”

Her comments came as a poll carried out immediately after the EU referendum result revealed a surge in support for independence.