BORIS Johnson has responded to the Scottish Government’s renewed plans to hold a second independence referendum.
The Prime Minister claimed Scots voters had addressed the question in 2014 and it was time to move on from the issue.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie launched a new document on Tuesday as the first in a series of papers setting out the updated case for independence.
The paper argued Scotland was being held back by its continued membership of the Union and compared the UK with other EU states outperforming it on key economic measures.
Johnson, who refused a Section 30 order in 2020 and shows no sign of changing his position, accused the Scottish Government of failing to “respect” the No vote delivered eight years ago.
He said: “I think the decision was taken by the Scottish people only a few years ago, in recent memory.
“I think we should respect that. I think we should also focus on what I think the people of the whole of the UK – Scotland, England, everybody – wants us to look at, which is the economic position we are in, the effect of Covid on the country and then the post-Covid issues that we’re grappling with.
“That’s the focus of the Government. We’re working with our friends in the Scottish Government, in the Scottish administration, on those issues.
“That’s what you’d expect the Government to do.”
He went on to praise the "firepower of the UK exchequer", which he said was helping combat the cost-of-living crisis.
Finance Secretary Kate Forbes criticised those remarks, tweeting: "I assume by the 'firepower of the UK exchequer' he really means the 'strength of Scotland’s industry', which is what is disproportionately funding the majority of recent cost of living measures."
Sturgeon accused the Prime Minister of having “no respect for democracy”.
She added: “That means if we are to uphold democracy here in Scotland we must forge a way forward, if necessary, without a section 30 order.”
