Independence referendum ‘not off the table’ amid meeting between Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

A fresh vote on Scottish independence remains "not off the table", a senior minister has said, despite earlier remarks from the Prime Minister.

The issue of separation from the UK resurfaced this week after Andy Burnham stated in the House of Commons that a further vote would be permitted should a majority of people in Scotland desire it.

Those comments were seized upon as a potential softening of the UK Government’s stance, though Downing Street quickly rejected such claims, reiterating that the constitutional arrangement for Scotland remained strictly "off limits".

Meanwhile, John Swinney is due to meet Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth alongside Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill in Cardiff on Monday, as well as take part in a series of engagements with the Welsh Government.

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Show, Scottish Education Secretary Mairi McAllan said: “An independence referendum is not off the table.

“We devote time to it because it is the transformational change that allows Scotland to stand on its own two feet in the world and to fulsomely pursue the better that we want.”

The “status quo in the UK is unsustainable”, Ms McAllan added, pointing to the first ministers of both Northern Ireland and Wales being in support of leaving the UK.

“The only people who, until last week anyway, didn’t appear to understand that were the UK Government.

“But the Prime Minister stood at the despatch box in the House of Commons last week and was clear that Scotland must have a route to choose our own future, so we just want that agreed now in a legal format so that we can take forward our mandate in Scotland.”

In a letter to the First Minister this week, the Prime Minister said he had been “highlighting that there is no consensus for an independence referendum in Scotland”.

He told Mr Swinney: “As I made clear to you personally when we met recently in Glasgow, independence and a referendum are off limits as it would take our focus away from growing the economy and helping families with the cost of living.”

Former Conservative minister Lord Michael Gove appeared on the same programme as Ms McAllan on Sunday, said he agreed with the Prime Minister.

He added: “Every time John Swinney talks about independence and invites us to talk about independence, that is time that should be spent talking about how to grow the Scottish economy, how to improve Scottish schools, how to make the NHS work better, how to make transport in Scotland work better, how to bring ferries to the islands.

“Talking about about that issue is a deliberate tactic in order to move scrutiny away from the day-to-day performance of the Scottish Government.”