News
Election win should trigger Scottish independence, says Sturgeon
Scotland could become independent if the SNP won a majority of votes in a UK election, Nicola Sturgeon has said, according to a BBC dispatch.
It said: The first minister wants a referendum in 2023, and is pushing for the Supreme Court to rule on a bill to set this up.
If this does not happen, she has said the SNP would treat the next general election as a “de facto referendum”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was the government’s “longstanding position” that it was not the right time for another independence vote.
He said: “We will look carefully at what [Nicola Sturgeon] says. Don’t forget that the longstanding position is that we don’t think this is the right time to be doing a constitutional change.”
“I think our economy is all the stronger for being together,” he added.
Johnson continued: “This is a time really now to focus on things which the union can deliver for the economic benefit of everybody.”
In an interview with BBC Scotland, the first minister said: “Scotland can’t become independent without a majority of people voting for it”.
She said: “I hope we can resolve these things in a referendum, that is the proper way of doing it. But if all routes to that are blocked then the general election will become the vehicle for people to express their view.”
Ms Sturgeon said she wanted to be clear about the principle and the practical reality “that Scotland cannot become independent unless and until a majority of people in Scotland vote for independence”.
She added: “The issue of practical reality is that when a majority vote for independence, I hope in a referendum, that will have to be followed by a negotiation with a UK government to implement that decision.”
If there were to be a vote in favour of Scottish independence – whether that be via the referendum Ms Sturgeon wants, or a de facto referendum based on a general election result – it would be followed by negotiations between the Scottish and UK governments.
Then, legislation would have to be passed at Westminster and perhaps Holyrood before Scotland became independent.
Ms Sturgeon said on Tuesday that the UK Supreme Court had been asked to rule on whether the Scottish government has the power to hold an independence referendum without agreement from Westminster.
Ahead of the 2014 referendum, the UK government agreed to a temporary transfer of powers to Holyrood to allow the referendum to go ahead.
he idea of a “de facto referendum” is a radical one, given Nicola Sturgeon’s reputation for caution and the fact her team had previously dismissed it as a strategy.
It raises many questions about how such a scheme would work, which ministers now find themselves talking about rather than their main plan – to hold an actual referendum.
After all, the first minister’s hope is that the last resort will never be needed. Her wish is still to do a deal with the UK government which would see both sides sign up to an agreed process in the style of 2014.
Bold talk of using a general election instead is chiefly a tool to force the pro-UK side to take their fingers out of their ears and engage with the issue, rather than a finalised strategy to deliver independence.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ms Sturgeon’s deputy John Swinney suggested that he considered a win to be the SNP winning the majority of seats contested in Scotland.
He was asked on BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland: “If you have a majority of Scottish MPs at the next UK general election, that would be a mandate to start negotiations for an independent Scotland?”
He replied: “That’s correct, yes.”
But he went on to Tweet that he had “misheard” the question, and added that his view would be that the SNP would need to win a majority of votes in a general election, not a majority of seats.
He said when he was asked about a “majority of seats”, he had only picked up on “majority”.
Mr Swinney added: “Referenda, including de facto referenda at a UK general election, are won with a majority of votes. Nothing else.”
Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said on Tuesday that another referendum was the “wrong priority for Scotland” and would hinder Scotland’s recovery from the pandemic.
Scottish Labour’s constitution spokeswoman Sarah Boyack said the SNP were “hell-bent on gaming the electorate to suit their ends”.
She said it was “deeply embarrassing for Nicola Sturgeon to be so publicly contradicted… by her own deputy”.
The party has also asked for the Lord Advocate to make a statement to MSPs on Thursday to ascertain her views on whether the Scottish government had the power to hold a referendum without the UK government’s approval.
It was the Lord Advocate – as the Scottish government’s chief legal adviser – who was responsible for referring the matter to the Supreme Court.
A statement from Scottish Labour said it wanted the Lord Advocate to appear in the chamber to “shed some light on her views, decisions and role”.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said less than a day after Ms Sturgeon’s plan was unveiled that “the wheels are falling off the clown car”.
He went on: “They seem to have conceded that they are heading for a defeat in court and so they are brainstorming barmy schemes for what comes next.”
‘Companies may face US sanctions’: Lanka to put ‘national interest’ first as 19 Iranian vessels seek help
(ToI) Sri Lanka said on Friday it would “prioritise our national interests” before providing assistance to the crews of 19 Iranian ships anchored in international waters near the island nation.The crews are facing shortages of food, water and fuel. A foreign ministry spokesperson cited the risk of US sanctions against Sri Lankan companies supplying the vessels as a key concern.
The United States and Iran have been at war since February 28, when the US and Israel launched joint strikes against the Islamic Republic.
“Sri Lanka will put its national interest first before considering any help, and the companies that supply ships are aware of possible secondary sanctions from the United States,” spokesperson Thushara Rodrigo told reporters, ruling out any immediate assistance to the vessels.
Rodrigo clarified, however, that Sri Lanka had received no communication from the United States warning of repercussions if it decided to assist the vessels.According to Rodrigo, the ships are stationed 24 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s coast.The Iranian Embassy said it had no information on the matter.
In March, a US torpedo attack sank the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena in Sri Lankan waters, killing 87 sailors.
The ship was returning to Iran after participating in a naval exercise at India’s invitation. A second Iranian vessel was brought to a Sri Lankan port after its crew reported technical problems.
Wounded sailors were treated at Sri Lankan hospitals, while those rescued from the second vessel were safely repatriated to Iran.
Sri Lanka is still recovering from an economic crisis, with both the United States and Iran serving as important trading partners. Washington played a key role in securing an International Monetary Fund bailout and supporting Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector to help avert a food crisis.
Sri Lanka CERT has warned the public of fraudulent social media advertisements offering admission to foreign universities after receiving complaints from parents and students who have lost hundreds of thousands of rupees to scammers.
The fraudsters reportedly pose as representatives of reputed foreign universities, promising admission, student visas, work permits and even eventual citizenship in return for registration fees and initial tuition payments.
They use convincing videos, photographs and documents circulated via email and WhatsApp to gain the confidence of unsuspecting victims before asking them to transfer money to foreign bank accounts. The scammers then disappear after receiving the payments, Sri Lanka CERT said.
The agency has urged prospective students and their parents to verify the authenticity of university representatives, documents and bank account details before making payments, and to seek overseas education opportunities only through legitimate and recognised channels.
Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and International Court of Justice judge Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to international law and efforts to promote peace, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced in Oslo on Friday.
Announcing the award, committee chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes said Pillay had “significantly enlarged the scope and impact of international law” and helped advance “a more comprehensive global legal order” with exceptional courage. He also praised her long career, which began as a lawyer confronting deep-rooted discrimination in South Africa, and described her as a person with a “firm moral compass”.
Pillay, 85, served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. Her tenure brought her into sharp focus in Sri Lanka, particularly over her assessment of the country’s human rights situation in the aftermath of the decades-long civil war.
During an official fact-finding visit to Sri Lanka from August 25 to 31, 2013, Pillay travelled to areas including Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Trincomalee, where she met civil war survivors, families of the disappeared and local communities.
Following the visit, she warned that Sri Lanka was moving towards authoritarianism and highlighted what she described as a persistent climate of fear.
She also reported intimidation and harassment of people who had sought to meet her during the mission.
Pillay urged the UN Human Rights Council to establish an international inquiry mechanism to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both government forces and the LTTE during the final stages of the 26-year civil war.
Her observations and recommendations became a significant part of international scrutiny of Sri Lanka’s post-war human rights record.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee received 287 nominations for this year’s Peace Prize, slightly more than a quarter of them being organisations. The committee traditionally considers efforts to promote peace, international fraternity and institutions that contribute to lasting stability.
Last year, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the prize for her campaign for a democratic transition in Venezuela. She was praised as a woman who kept the flame of democracy burning amid growing darkness.
The 2026 award marks the 125th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, first presented in 1901. Over its history, the prize has recognised prominent figures and organisations involved in advancing peace, human rights and international cooperation.
Showers above 75 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Uva and North-Western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Anuradhapura and Mannar districts.
Iranian ships stranded, Lanka fears US sanctions
Sri Lanka CERT warns of overseas university admission scams
Navi Pillay’s Lankan affairs in focus as she wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize
Lanka welcomes Indian SC remarks on Katchatheevu dispute
UN at Crossroads, Trump nearing End of the Road
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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