Holyrood should choose timing of independence referendum, Nicola Sturgeon says

Nicola Sturgeon has warned Downing Street there should be "no blocking mechanisms" applied to her plans for a second independence referendum.

The First Minister also insisted the timing of the referendum should be determined by Scotland and not by London.

Speaking after a meeting of her senior ministerial team, Ms Sturgeon said: "Cabinet today agreed that the referendum must be for Scotland's national legislature to shape.

"It should be up to the Scottish Parliament to determine the referendum's timing, franchise and the question."

Prime Minister Theresa May was barracked by MPs as she told the House of Commons she had been "working closely" with the Scottish Government on preparations for Brexit.

In a swipe at Ms Sturgeon's plans for an independence referendum, Mrs May told the Commons: "This is not a moment to play politics or create uncertainty. It is a moment to bring our country together, to honour the will of the British people and to shape for them a better, brighter future and a better Britain."

In a statement focusing on last week's European Council summit, Mrs May confirmed that she expected royal assent to be granted "in the coming days" to the Bill granting her the power to begin Brexit negotiations with the EU.

And she promised to come to the Commons before the end of March to inform MPs that she had triggered withdrawal talks under Article 50 of the EU treaties.

Ms Sturgeon insisted the Scottish Government "has a cast-iron democratic mandate for an independence referendum".

The SNP leader said: "The vote must take place within a timeframe to allow an informed choice to be made - when the terms of Brexit are clear but before the UK leaves the European Union or shortly afterwards.

"In that way, with the vote taking placed between the autumn of 2018 and the spring of 2019, the independence prospectus which we will offer people can be contrasted directly with the Brexit deal which the UK Government will have negotiated by the start of that period."

She spoke out after Prime Minister Theresa May accused the SNP of "playing politics with the future of our country" with a vote that would only create "more uncertainty and division".

Mrs May's comments were seen as an indication she will not allow the referendum to go ahead until after the Brexit process is complete - which is expected to be in the spring of 2019.

Some reports have suggested permission could be conditional on the SNP gaining an absolute majority in the 2021 Scottish elections.

Ms Sturgeon responded to the Prime Minister by highlighting the 2015 general election results and pointing out Mrs May took the keys to Number 10 without an election, or even completing a Tory leadership contest.

On Twitter, she said: "A quick reminder: Tory vote in GE2015 - 36.9% SNP constituency vote in SP2016 - 46.5%.

"Trading mandates does not put PM on strong ground.

"In addition, I was elected as FM on a clear manifesto commitment re #scotref. The PM is not yet elected by anyone."

After the Scottish Cabinet met in her official residence, Bute House in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said: "Scotland's referendum should be built on the principles of democracy, mandate and precedent, all of which should be observed as we move to give the people of Scotland the choice the current political situation demands.

"There should be no strings attached, no blocking mechanisms applied and no Downing Street diktat - Scotland's referendum must be made in Scotland."

She added: "That was the exact description the UK Government themselves used ahead of the 2014 referendum and the same principle should apply now."

Meanwhile, Madrid's foreign minister Alfonso Dastis played down the chances of an independent Scotland being able to remain in the European Union when the rest of the UK leaves

According to Europa Press, Mr Dastis told reporters in Peru that an independent Scotland ''can't just stay in the EU''.

Any prospective application to the EU can be vetoed by any member and Spain is nervous about its own internal separatist movements.

The European Commission's deputy chief spokesman Alexander Winterstein refused to be drawn on whether Scotland could inherit the UK's membership of the EU without leaving the bloc.

''This is a question that is as interesting as it is hypothetical,'' he told the commission's daily briefing for journalists in Brussels.

He added: ''This negotiation process will be one between the European Union and Her Majesty's Government. We respect the internal constitutional arrangements of all our member states.''