Johnson calls summit as Scotland renews independence referendum call

London, May 9

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called a Covid recovery summit to bring together leaders of the devolved Scottish and Welsh governments, following election results that have renewed calls for another independence referendum in Scotland.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon led pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) won a strong victory, falling short of a clear majority in the Scottish Parliament Holyrood by just one seat as the results from Thursday’s elections became clear on Sunday.

It led to Sturgeon declaring the vote as a mandate for a second independence referendum, the first held in 2014 which went against independence. “Given the outcome of this election, there is simply no democratic justification whatsoever for Boris Johnson or anyone else seeking to block the right of the people of Scotland to choose our future,” Sturgeon said in her victory speech from Glasgow. — PTI