Nicola Sturgeon: Scotland 'cannot be imprisoned' in UK

Scotland "cannot be imprisoned in the union against its will" by the UK government, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon told BBC.

The Scottish first minister says the SNP's success in the general election gives her a mandate to hold a new referendum on independence.

She said UK government would be "completely wrong" to think saying no to a referendum would be the end of the matter, adding: "It's a fundamental point of democracy - you can't hold Scotland in the union against its will."

"I said this to him on Friday night on the telephone - if he thinks saying no is the end of the matter then he's going to find himself completely and utterly wrong. It's a fundamental point of democracy - you can't hold Scotland in the union against its will. You can't lock us in a cupboard and turn the key and hope everything goes away. If the UK is to continue it can only be by consent. If Boris Johnson is confident in the case for the union he should be confident enough to make that case and allow people to decide. Scotland cannot be imprisoned within the United Kingdom against its will. These are just basic statements of democracy," Nicola Sturgeon said.

SNP party won 48 seats after in the UK general election more than in 2017, when it won 35 seats.