Holyrood Could Block UK Leaving EU - Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon has said she would consider asking the Scottish Parliament to block Brexit if given the opportunity.

The First Minister would "find it hard to believe" that Holyrood would not be required to back the UK leaving the EU.

If this was the case she would "of course" think about calling on MSPs to stop it.

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However, Scottish Secretary David Mundell said he did not think the Scottish Parliament would be "in a position to block Brexit".

But he said there would be another independence referendum if that was what the people of Scotland wanted.

North of the border, some 62% of people voted to stay in the EU, while across the UK 52% backed leaving.

In the wake of the Brexit vote, Ms Sturgeon said a second independence referendum was "highly likely" and she would seek to enter into "immediate discussions" with Brussels to "protect Scotland's place in the EU".

Speaking on Sky News' Murnaghan programme, Ms Sturgeon said: "A second independence referendum in these circumstances would not just be a rerun of the 2014 one because the context has totally changed.

"The UK that we voted to remain within in 2014 does not exist anymore."

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The SNP leader said the UK was in "uncharted territory" following the outcome of the EU referendum.

With laws passed by Holyrood required to comply with European legislation on human rights, she was pressed on the issue on BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland.

Ms Sturgeon said: "The issue you're talking about is whether there would require to be a legislative consent motion, or motions in the Scottish Parliament 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 the UK government will take a very different view on that and we'll have to see where that discussion ends up."

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When asked if she would consider asking the Scottish Parliament not to back a motion for legislative consent, she stated: "Of course, if the Scottish Parliament was judging this on the basis of what's right for Scotland then the option of saying we're not going to vote for something that is against Scotland's interests, of course that is on the table."

She said she could imagine the "fury" such a move could cause in England, but added: "It is perhaps similar to the fury of many people in Scotland right now as we face the prospect of being taken out of the European Union against our will."

But Mr Mundell insisted: "We have to respect the result on Thursday, even if we don't like it.

"I personally don't believe the Scottish Parliament is in a position to block Brexit."

The Brexit vote, in which Northern Ireland backing Remain by 56% to 44%, has also led to calls by Sinn Fein for a border poll on Irish unity.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has urged the NI Assembly and Irish government "to uphold the vote of the electorate in the north to remain in the EU".