In brief
Scottish government “pauses work” on second independence referendum
Holyrood had backed plans to hold the vote before the end of 2020
Scotland’s Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell has written a letter to UK government’s Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove saying that “the Scottish Government has paused work on preparing for an independence referendum this year.”
The Scottish Parliament had backed in January the government’s proposal to hold the vote before the end of 2020, even if the UK government had previously stated that it would not be granting permission for that. Edinburgh needs London’s agreement to hold the referendum.
Covid-19 had killed three people in Scotland until 19 March. 227 had been tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.