Boris Johnson could be faced with a Battle of Britain within days as Nicola Sturgeon gears up for a fresh clash on Scottish independence.
She plans to ambush the Prime Minister with “the detailed, democratic, case for the transfer of power” to Edinburgh.
The Conservative leader has vowed not to sanction another border poll, paving the way for a dramatic showdown.
The 2014 independence referendum saw Scots vote by 55% to 45% to remain in the UK. But nationalists claim Brexit means the circumstances have changed enough for another poll to be staged
Ms Sturgeon warned the PM today: “Scotland cannot be imprisoned in the Union against its will.”
Denying Scots another vote would be a “perversion and subversion of democracy” after her party won 48 of 59 seats north of the frontier, she insisted.
She told the BBC: “The Tories might rage against the reality of what happened on Thursday for a while - I fully expect that they will.
“But ultimately they are going to have to face up to and confront that reality because of the will of the Scottish people cannot be ignored, that is just the simple fact of the matter.”
She added: “If he thinks - and I said this to him on Friday night on the telephone - that saying no is the end of the matter, he is going to find himself completely and utterly wrong.
“It’s a fundamental point of democracy, you cannot hold Scotland in the Union against its will. You cannot just lock us in a cupboard and turn the key and hope that everything goes away.
“If the United Kingdom is to continue, it can only be by consent and if Boris Johnson is confident in the case for the Union he should be confident enough to make that case and allow people to decide.”
Ms Sturgeon had already demanded a fresh independence vote in the second half of 2020 - and today vowed to “pursue the plan I won a mandate for”.
A top Cabinet Minister insisted the Government would block another separation referendum.
Confirming the Tories would “absolutely” not allow another vote, Michael Gove told Sky News: “We were told in 2014 that would be a choice for a generation.
“We are not going to have an independence referendum on Scotland.”
But SNP MP Angus MacNeil suggested his party could trigger a bombshell Plan B - resigning all 48 seats the party has just won to trigger a constitutional crisis and regain a mandate for independence.
He told the Daily Record: "If the UK Government is saying there is no referendum for five years then plan B has to be a direct mandate from an election.
“All the MPs in Scotland could resign their seats. There would be 48 by-elections and at 48 by-elections you would come back with a direct electoral mandate for independence.
“We are not stuck for ideas. That is total blue sky thinking from me at the moment but we are now brainstorming ideas of what to do if Boris says no.
“My favoured choice is plan A and a referendum but we need alternatives. Let’s put things out there because we can’t go on with Boris in charge saying no.”
Mr Gove refused to say whether the Commons would have a Brexit vote before Christmas.
MPs will be sworn in on Tuesday and Wednesday before the State Opening of Parliament on Thursday.
Their first duty could be to vote on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill on Friday - edging the UK closer to the Brussels exit.
Britain is due to leave the EU by January 31.
Mr Gove said a Commons vote would take place “in relatively short order”.
He also insisted the UK and EU would strike a deal on the future relationship before the end of 2020.
A full trade agreement with the EU “will be concluded next year”, he claimed.
Asked if it will be another broken promise, he added: “No.”
He went on: “There are areas where the European Union’s interests and the United Kingdom’s interests are already closely aligned, so I’m confident that we will be able not just to leave the EU on January 31 but also to conclude all the details of a new relationship in short order.”
But acting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “I do not believe they can get Brexit done in the next year as they said they would do.”
.png?w=600)
