MICHAEL Gove has said that Westminster would not block another referendum on the constitution if it is the "settled will" of Scots.
According to the Sunday Mail, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster insisted that the UK Government would not stand in the way of another referendum, despite Boris Johnson repeatedly refusing to grant a Section 30 order enabling one to happen.
Asked if the UK government would block a vote forever, Mr Gove replied: "No, if it is the case that there is clearly a settled will in favour of a referendum, then one will occur."
It comes after polling ahead of May's Holyrood election showed a consistent majority support for leaving the union, however this has since declined.
At one point support for independence was as high as 58 per cent, however the latest poll for the Sunday Times, by Panelbase, showed 48% of people supported constitutional separation.
Mr Gove is reported to have said: "The principle that the people of Scotland, in the right circumstances, can ask that question again is there.
“I just don’t think that it is right, and the public don’t think it is right, to ask that question as a distraction.”
The SNP said Mr Gove had 'missed' the fact that Scots have "expressed their settled will that they want to hold a referendum" already.
Ian Blackford, the party's Westminster leader, said: "It should not be news that the Tories are finally waking up to the fact that the people of Scotland have expressed their democratic wishes in an election that they want their future to be put into their hands.
"The fundamental point Michael Gove missed is that the people of Scotland have spoken and expressed their settled will that they want to hold a referendum when they elected a majority of independence supporting MSPs to the Scottish Parliament just over two months ago.
"If Boris Johnson continues to ignore the mandate given by the people of Scotland to hold a referendum then he will continue to tell the people of Scotland that their opinion does not matter. That will only push support for independence up.
"We face the prospect of another decade of Tory austerity, which we are already seeing the start of as they cut vital support to hardworking families at a time when they need it the most. The people of Scotland must be given a choice to take a different path.
"Ultimately, we cannot trust the Tories to protect Scotland and so the only way we can do that is by becoming an independent country.”
The Cabinet Office minister has come under fire directly from the SNP in recent months after The Herald revealed his department authorised the use of taxpayer funds to gauge 'attitudes to the union', under emergency coronavirus legislation.
Last week the UK Government was also found to have used taxpayers' cash for opinion polling about Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and London mayor Sadiq Khan - but insists this was not 'party political'.
The UK Government said it had conducted the research as part of its covid strategy, to determine the popularity of different 'spokespeople' when considering delivering public health messages.
However when asked, it would not confirm if No.10 was considering asking Mr Starmer or Mr Khan for help in telling the public about health measures at the start of the pandemic.
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