PM Says No To Second Scottish Referendum

David Cameron has ruled out a second Scottish referendum saying: "I don’t see the need for one."

In a direct shot at Scottish National Party MP Alex Salmond - who claimed a second vote on independence was "inevitable" - the Prime Minister said the decision by the Scottish public had been "decisive".

And he stressed that any decision by the Scottish Government to hold a referendum would not be legitimate.

The SNP won a landslide victory in Scotland at the General Election and has now formed a significant tartan bloc of 56 MPs in the House of Commons.

Mr Cameron's comments are likely to put him on a collision course with the party, which has already made clear its intention to be a thorn in the Conservative Government's side.

Speaking during his trip to Southeast Asia Mr Cameron said: "I think it is important that a referendum is legal and fair and properly constituted and that's what we had and it was decisive so I don't see the need for another one."

On Sunday, Mr Salmond told the Andrew Marr Show: "I think a second independence referendum is inevitable.

"The question is not the inevitability, it's the timing and that is very much in the hands of Nicola Sturgeon."

He said the threat of a British exit from the European Union could trigger moves towards a second referendum, as could austerity measures and a failure to deliver powers promised by the Government before last year's referendum.

SNP leader Ms Sturgeon is under pressure to come clean on whether her party will include a promise for a second referendum in the party manifesto for the 2016 Scottish parliamentary elections.

She has refused to be drawn but recently said: "I believe Scotland will become an independent country and that will only happen if people vote for it in a referendum, so I believe one day there will be another independence referendum.

"It will be up to me or any future leader of the SNP to decide whether or not that goes in a manifesto for a Scottish election. But the ultimate decision as to whether there is a referendum again, when that might be and what the outcome might be are all matters entirely for the democratic decision of the Scottish people."