Nicola Sturgeon has declared “it is the will of the country” for Scotland to have a second independence referendum, after a majority of pro-independence MSPs were elected in the Holyrood election.

In a victory speech, the First Minister called independence the "will of the country" as she hailed the performance of her party with the SNP and outlined the "ambitious and transformative programme to kick-start and drive recovery"

The SNP and Scottish Greens have won a total of 66 seats in Holyrood, with more gains expected as further regional list results are announced.

The First Minister said that a second Scottish independence referendum was now "a matter of fundamental democratic principle".

She said: "The people in Scotland must have the right to decide our own future when the Covid crisis has passed."

"The SNP and Scottish Greens both stood on a clear commitment to an independence referendum within the next parliamentary term.

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"And both of us said that the timing of a referendum should be decided by a simple majority of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament."

Ms Sturgeon added that there was "no democratic justification whatsoever" for Boris Johnson to block a referendum.

"If there is such an attempt it will demonstrate conclusively that the UK is not a partnership of equals and that – astonishingly – Westminster no longer sees the UK as a voluntary union of nations.

“Already today, I hear opposition parties – and some commentators – talking about what they call ‘SNP demands’ for an independence referendum.

“They are desperately trying to rewrite the basic rules of democracy and redefine what constitutes an election win and a mandate.”

"That in itself would be a very powerful argument for independence."

“The people of Scotland have voted to give pro-independence parties a majority in the Scottish Parliament – the final tally is not yet known, but it looks likely that the pro-independence majority will be larger in this parliament than in the last one.

“The SNP and Scottish Greens both stood on a clear commitment to an independence referendum within the next Parliamentary term.

“And both of us said that the timing of a referendum should be decided by a simple majority of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament. So in no way is a referendum just demand of me or the SNP.

“It is a commitment made to the people by a majority of the MSPs who will take their seats in our national parliament next week.

“Usually – and by the normal standards of democracy – parties are expected to deliver on the commitments they make in elections, not face attempts to block them from doing so.

“Given the outcome of this election, there is simply no democratic justification whatsoever for Boris Johnson or anyone else seeking to block the right of the people of Scotland to choose our future.”

She said that the SNP had “won more votes and a higher share of the votes in the constituency ballot than any party in the history of devolution”.

She said: “This election result is – by any standard – an extraordinary and historic achievement.

“The majority of people in Scotland back a progressive, inclusive, outward-looking vision for the future of our nation”.

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“Yet we are facing many more years of right-wing Brexit-obsessed Tory governments that we don’t vote for, taking us in a direction we haven’t chosen.”

Speaking on the election success she said: "Absolutely no-one would have predicted the scale and the record breaking nature of our victory at this election."

"Most of all I want to thank the people of Scotland for putting their trust in me and the SNP once again. We will work to repay that trust every day.

"Wherever you are from, whatever age you are, whatever your background, and no matter who you voted for, the SNP in government is dedicated to working for you."