Yahoo News UK's Johnson says no to Sturgeon's Scottish referendum demand
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Friday he would not support her plan for a second independence referendum, clashing just hours after the two leaders emerged triumphant from a national election.
Sturgeon had earlier on Friday demanded another independence referendum after her Scottish National Party (SNP) won a better-than-expected 48 out of Scotland's 59 seats in the U.K. parliament in London.
Johnson, whose Conservatives won a resounding victory in Thursday's election, spoke to Sturgeon later in the day and said he would not agree to another independence vote, after Scottish voters backed remaining in the United Kingdom in a 2014 vote.
"The Prime Minister made clear how he remained opposed to a second independence referendum, standing with the majority of people in Scotland who do not want to return to division and uncertainty," Johnson's office said in a statement.
"He added how the result of the 2014 referendum was decisive and should be respected."
Sturgeon responded shortly after on Twitter, saying she had told the prime minister that her political mandate to give people a choice must be respected, "just as he expects his mandate to be respected".
(Reporting by Kate Holton, Editing by Paul Sandle and Gareth Jones)
