BORIS Johnson has claimed Scottish independence would be “utterly tragic for the whole world.”
The Prime Minister’s comment came as he answered questions from MPs about last week’s meetings of the Commonwealth, G7 and NATO.
In his statement, Mr Johnson said his government’s international priority was to “join with our allies to ensure that Ukraine prevails in her brave struggle against Putin’s aggression.”
The Conservative leader said the Madrid Nato summit “exceeded all expectations in the unity and single-minded resolve of the alliance to support Ukraine for as long as it takes”.
He added: “All of us understand that if Putin is not stopped in Ukraine he will find new targets for his revanchist attacks and we are not defending some abstract ideal but the first principle of a peaceful world, which is that large and powerful countries cannot be allowed to dismember their neighbours and if this was ever permitted, then no nation anywhere would be safe.”
The Prime Minister said that Ukraine “must have the strength to finish this war on the terms that President Zelensky has described”.
Mr Johnson also welcomed Sweden and Finland as new Nato allies and stressed that the alliance was “defensive” in its purpose.
He also told MPs that the UK will likely be spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of this decade.
Alba's Neale Hanvey used his question to accuse Mr Johnson of breaching UN law on self-determination by “denying Scotland's claim of right.”
He said the Prime Minister was “holding Scotland’s democracy hostage.”
Mr Hanvey said: “I listened carefully to the Prime Minister’s warm words about the Commonwealth and the relationship between independent countries.
"And, of course, in 1941, it was then Prime Minister Churchill that signed the Atlantic Charter with the United States committing both Britain and the United States to delivering people's right to choose their own form of government and self government.
“Now this respect for the principle of equal rights of self determination of peoples was incorporated into the United Nations Charter, in paragraph two of articles 173 and 76.
“In light of this, can the Prime Minister set out what mandate he has won which allows him to breach this UN principle denying Scotland's claim of right and hold Scotland's democracy hostage?”
Replying Mr Johnson said: “I know that the First Minister has asked for for another referendum. I just point out we had one in 2014. Right now the priorities of the country should be rebuilding after Covid.
“They should be taking us forward together as a united country, and that's what we want to do.”
Later, in response to a question from Tory MP, Brendan Clarke Smith, the Prime Minister told the House that the “Scottish contribution to our armed service is immense.”
“Everybody knows it,” he added. “It's a fantastic thing, it helps to make the UK, what it is. It will be utterly tragic for the whole world if the UK armed services were to face a division of that kind, or an obstacle of that kind.”
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