KEIR Starmer has said he is frustrated by talk of Scottish independence. The UK Labour leader was in Edinburgh yesterday, on his first trip north of the Border since taking over from Jeremy Corbyn.

He said: “One of my frustrations is that in the middle of a pandemic when we’ve got infection rates going back up again, we’ve got Boris Johnson and his Government re-opening Brexit, breaking international law and stirring up old divisions.

“You’ve got the SNP talking about independence, when in my view we should all be talking about how we work together to defeat the virus.

“I don’t think that now is the time for a further divisive referendum and that’s my message, that’s the argument we will be making between now and May.”

Back in January, before his victory in the Labour leadership contest, Starmer said the SNP would have a mandate to hold a second independence referendum if they win the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

He told ITV Border that the decision on another poll “should be made in Scotland”.

Asked yesterday about those comments, Starmer said: “Well I don’t think that with a pandemic like this another divisive referendum is what anybody wants.

“And that’s why we will be focusing on what we see as the issues that really matter going into the next election which is what we’re doing to defeat the virus obviously but the economic fall-out, how we rebuild the economy and rebuild public services.”

His visit co-incides with a rough time for the Scottish party, with bitter splits between MSPs and polls predicting a rout next May.

Scottish leader Richard Leonard survived an attempted coup last weekend, when a motion of no confidence in his leadership was withdrawn at the last minute.

Reports suggest senior party figures, including deputy leader Jackie Baillie and shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray, were keen to see the hapless Scottish chief ousted.

The motion was submitted after four of his MSPs openly called for Leonard’s resignation.

Speaking to journalists, Starmer urged his party to “pull together”. He said: “I’ve got an excellent working relationship with Richard Leonard.

“I’m here to talk to him about our priorities going into the election next year and he and I have a shared task in restoring trust in the Labour Party, focusing on the issues that I think matter most, which is rebuilding the economy here in Scotland and public services, and of course working together to defeat the virus.”

Starmer said he ran his leadership campaign arguing for Labour to unite and unify. “That’s among the reasons I’m here in Scotland today, and that’s why I’m talking to colleagues in Scottish Labour today.

Asked if Leonard has his confidence, he said: “Yes, I support Richard Leonard and that’s why we’ll be working together on what we need to do together over the coming weeks and months into the May elections of next year.”

Starmer added: “Because what I want to see here in Scotland, is for our party to pull together and to focus on the job in hand, which is what we need to do between now and next May, in relation to the elections. That’s why I’m here having the discussions I am today, and that’s what I want to see.”

Asked if he agreed with Leonard, who recently claimed that there is no-one better placed than he is to lead Scottish Labour, he replied:

“Richard Leonard won the leadership of Scottish Labour and as the leader in Scotland, and me as the leader of the Labour Party, we’ve been working very closely together ever since I got elected as leader in April of this year.

“So what I’m looking forward to is continuing that work with Richard, and this afternoon we’ll be discussing what we need to do between now and next May in relation to the elections in May.”

He insisted the two men had a very good working relationship.