THE UK Government has responded to a petition calling for it to grant a Section 30 Order for indyref2.

Michael Alan Scott set up the petition, which urges Westminster to allow a second independence referendum to take place, and has attracted 11,779 signatures by last night.

But the UK Government has rejected the petition after it hit the 10,000- signatures mark.

The UK Government said: “Now is not the time for another referendum. In 2014 people in Scotland voted decisively to remain part of the United Kingdom. That result should be respected.

“The UK Government has been clear that now is not the time for another referendum. Scotland had an independence referendum in 2014 on a promise that it would settle the issue for a generation.

"It was legal, fair and decisive and people in Scotland voted by a significant margin to remain part of the UK. The Edinburgh Agreement of 2012 committed the UK and Scottish governments to respect the referendum’s outcome. The UK Government will continue to respect the result of the 2014 referendum.”

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SNP councillor Chris McEleny hit out at the response, saying “the people of Scotland are sovereign”.

He urged the SNP to make a formal request for a Section 30 order immediately.

McEleny continued: “In the meantime, it’s long past a time that the Scottish Government should have tested this issue at the Supreme Court and if need be the European Court.

“I doubt a court would deny the democratic will of the people of Scotland.”

The petition can be found at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/259359