Nicola Sturgeon issues fresh independence warning in the face of the EU result

Nicola Sturgeon issued a fresh warning that Scotland will vote for independence after the UK voted to leave the European Union.

Although voters in England and Wales voted to leave, Scotland voted by 62 per cent to 38 per cent to stay in the EU.

Before the final UK result was announced, the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said: "Scotland has delivered a strong, unequivocal vote to remain in the EU, and I welcome that endorsement of our European status.

RELATED CONTENT

Brexit will trigger second independence referendum, says Alex Salmond

Britain has voted to leave the EU

“And while the overall result remains to be declared, the vote here makes clear that the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union.

“Scotland has contributed significantly to the Remain vote across the UK. That reflects the positive campaign the SNP fought, which highlighted the gains and benefits of our EU membership, and people across Scotland have responded to that positive message.

“We await the final UK-wide result, but Scotland has spoken - and spoken decisively."

The SNP manifesto for the last Holyrood election suggested that a vote to leave the EU could act as a trigger for them to call a second independence referendum.

Speaking before the Leave vote was confirmed, Alex Salmond told the BBC: "If there was a Leave vote in England dragging us out of the EU, I'm quite certain Nicola Sturgeon would implement the SNP manifesto in which she received 47 per cent of the vote last month."

The SNP’s Westminster leader, Angus Robertson, said the result could trigger a “constitutional crisis” that could lead to a second independence referendum.

However, former local government minister Marco Biagi questioned whether the turnout in Scotland suggested the country wasn’t committed enough to the EU issue for to be the basis of another indyref.

Biagi tweeted: Scotland's more moderate turnout should be a lesson to anyone wanting an instant #indyref2 that EU alone not a big enough issue to trigger.