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Nicola Sturgeon refers decision over second independence referendum to the Supreme Court

Nicola Sturgeon said she would not allow Scotland to be a 'prisoner of Boris Johnson' by allowing him to block another separation vote - Reuters/Russell Cheyne
Nicola Sturgeon said she would not allow Scotland to be a 'prisoner of Boris Johnson' by allowing him to block another separation vote - Reuters/Russell Cheyne

Nicola Sturgeon is to take her battle to stage her own independence referendum to the UK Supreme Court, as she blindsided the Prime Minister by demanding an urgent ruling on whether this would be lawful.

The First Minister said she would not allow Scotland to be a "prisoner of Boris Johnson" by allowing him to block another separation vote - and said her preferred date for a rerun was Oct 19 next year.

She published a Referendum Bill for a "consultative" vote and revealed that Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, her most senior law officer, had referred it to Britain's highest court.

In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, she said Ms Bain had asked for a ruling on whether the legislation was within Holyrood's powers, despite constitutional affairs being reserved to Westminster.

The Supreme Court said the request had been referred to Lord Reid of Allermuir, its president. The Scot will decide when the case will be heard, how many justices will consider it and which ones will sit on the bench.

He ruled last October that the SNP had overstepped its powers by attempting to enshrine treaties on child rights and local government into Scots law, in a decision that was seen as damaging to Ms Sturgeon's case to hold her own referendum.

With most legal experts predicting the court will side with the UK Government, she said she would then fight the next general election on the single issue of independence and use it as a "de facto referendum".

She indicated that she would try to whip up Scots' anger at being denied another separation vote, by arguing that a Supreme Court defeat would signal that "any notion of the UK as a voluntary union of nations is a fiction".

Sources close to the First Minister indicated the benchmark for “victory” would be the SNP receiving more than 50 per cent of the vote. However, her official spokesman refused to say whether she would then demand talks with the UK Government over an independence settlement.

Ms Sturgeon told journalists: "If we get into that scenario, I’ll set out much more about exactly what we’re asking people for and what we will do with that."

However, it remained unclear why the Prime Minister would accede to such a plan. Senior UK Government sources described it as "bonkers", with one saying: "It's the beginning of the end for her."

Speaking as he travelled to the Nato summit in Madrid, Mr Johnson admitted he had not seen her proposals - but added: "We will study it very carefully and we will respond properly."

Mr Johnson has repeatedly stated that he will refuse any formal request from Ms Sturgeon for a Section 30 order, the legislative device used to transfer the powers for the 2014 referendum.

On Tuesday, she wrote to the Prime Minister saying she was "ready" to hold negotiations with him over the terms of an order if he changed his mind.

However, she told MSPs she would not "allow Scottish democracy to be a prisoner of Boris Johnson" and unveiled her Referendum Bill, which included her preferred date and question asking people if Scotland "should be an independent country".

Even if Ms Bain agreed to certify the legislation as being within Holyrood's powers, Ms Sturgeon admitted that it would face a legal challenge from the UK Government after it was passed by MSPs.

In a surprise move, Ms Sturgeon argued that "we must seek now to accelerate to the point when we have legal clarity" and the Lord Advocate had agreed to "make a reference of the provisions in the Bill to the Supreme Court" for a speedy decision.

If her government emerged victorious, she said there would be "no doubt whatsoever that the referendum is lawful" and the Bill would be tabled at Holyrood immediately.

But she insisted that "would not be the end of the matter" if she lost, as she pledged "the general election will be a de facto referendum" - with the SNP fighting its campaign on the "single question" of separation.

Ms Sturgeon said a Supreme Court defeat would be Westminster's fault and would make clear to Scots that "any suggestion that the UK is a partnership of equals is false".

Rehearsing her central theme for the election campaign, she added: “There would be few stronger or more powerful arguments for independence than that."

But Mr Johnson said: "The focus of the country should be on building a stronger economy, that’s what we’re doing with our plan for a stronger economy and I certainly think that we’ll be able to have a stronger economy and a stronger country together."

A senior government source said: "If she has lost in the Supreme Court, what chance does she have fighting a general election on the same single ticket issue? It's bonkers."

They said Ms Sturgeon would not be able to score a propaganda victory by arguing that the "big, bad UK Government" was taking her administration to court, as "they've taken themselves to court".

Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said: "The First Minister gave her game away in this statement – this is actually about the general election and the SNP having some relevance in it. It is not actually about the Scottish people."

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader, said: "We won’t play Nicola Sturgeon’s games. We won’t take part in a pretend poll when there’s real work to be done."

A UK Government spokesman said: "A decision has been taken by the First Minister to publish a Bill, and the Lord Advocate has made a referral to the UK Supreme Court. UK Government law officers will now consider their response.”