THE Scottish Government have ruled out a legal challenge to allow a second independence referendum.

The National understands that ministers do not want to head to the courts to force the UK Government into allowing them a vote.

That comes after speculation that the First Minister was considering getting lawyers involved.

During a question and answer session with students at Stanford University in California on Monday night, Nicola Sturgeon was asked about the process for holding a referendum. Explaining that the Scotland Act had reserved a number of responsibilities to Westminster, Sturgeon said: “One of the things it reserved to the UK government is the constitution, which is quite a vague term.

“It’s never been tested in court but in 2014 we accepted that for there to be a referendum in Scotland, for the Scottish Parliament to legislate for a referendum, it required the legal consent of the UK government.”

This, our source said, was a matter of fact and not an indication of intention. Professor Aileen McHarg from the Scottish Constitutional Future Forum told the National this had been widely debated back in 2012, and never really resolved.

“In short, there is an argument to be made that Holyrood could enact a referendum bill without a section 30 order, “ she said, “but it would be certain to be challenged, and the Scottish Government could not be certain that that they would win.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie had written to the First Minister to say he had been “alarmed” at possibility of “testing the reserved power on the UK constitution in the courts.“ “I am sure you will understand a majority of people in Scotland now believe that you are being distracted by the issue of independence and this most recent threat is yet another example of that,” Rennie put in his letter to Sturgeon.

The Tories meanwhile criticised the cost of the First Minister’s “independence vanity project”

“The wider cost is a government in charge of the NHS, education and public services which isn’t focused on improving our quality of life, but is instead campaigning for separation,” Adam Tomkins said.

“It is a lose-lose situation for the Scottish public. Nicola Sturgeon has dug herself into a hole on the constitution.”

A spokesman for the First Minister said: “There is a cast-iron democratic mandate for giving the people of Scotland a choice on their future – and the referendum we are intent on delivering is the same kind as that which took place in 2014.

“We agree with the Prime Minister now is not the time for a vote, but if the UK Government’s intention is to try and indefinitely block a referendum that would be utterly undemocratic and unsustainable.

“People across Scotland already disagree with that stance, and public opinion is only likely to turn even more sharply against the PM the longer she tries to stick to that position.”

Meanwhile, Scottish Secretary David Mundell is to use a lecture in Singapore today to say Brexit will strengthen Scotland’s parliament.

“As we leave the EU, all the powers and frameworks currently held and run by the EU will be transferred back to the UK.”

“For me, one of the most important set of choices will be to ensure that these returning powers are held at the right level of government.”