SCOTLAND’S constitutional secretary has said he is considering “plans A to Z” to ensure a second referendum will take place if a pro- independence majority is elected to Holyrood next May.

Michael Russell revealed he is talking to ministerial colleagues about fall back options if Boris Johnson continues to refuse an agreed plebiscite if the pro-independence parties triumph in the spring.

It is the first time the Scottish Government has explicitly indicated it is weighing up how to push ahead with achieving independence should the Prime Minister fail to hand over the powers to Holyrood under a Section 30 order to hold a new vote.

The First Minister has described the process behind the 2014 ballot as the “gold standard” and has been reluctant to deviate from it.

However, in an exclusive interview with the Sunday National Russell said he was looking at alternatives but cautioned about these being made public as to do so would be to alert opponents.

“Democracy is an important thing,” he said, asked about what the Scottish Government should do if Johnson continues to block a referendum following an independence majority in Holyrood in 2021.

“If the people of Scotland vote for something they must have it. The role of the SNP is if they vote for the SNP to deliver it, then the SNP must deliver it.

“So therefore we will find a way to deliver it and I think we just don’t need Plan B, we need Plan A to Z and we have lots of ideas to do with that.”

His intervention follows a tense debate inside the SNP about what should happen if Johnson continues to rule out agreeing to a referendum after next May’s election.

He has said he will do so with Scottish Secretary Alister Jack saying last month the UK Government would not agree to a second vote until a generation had passed – which he said could be 25 to 40 years.

Two resolutions putting forward alternatives were rejected for debate at the SNP’s annual conference last weekend, prompting a backlash with a majority of advocates in favour of having a fall back route elected to its ruling body, the National Executive Committee.

Russell, who will stand down from Holyrood ahead of next year’s elections, was elected to the honorary role of SNP President, a position he said will see him act as an ambassador for independence both at home and abroad.

Turning to the “Plan B” debate he told The Sunday National that while “Plans A to Plan Z” was needed it would not make sense to be public about what they are.

“I’m not sure if it helps anybody if we start on saying ‘well if he does this, we’ll do that and if he then does this, then we’ll do this’. It’s self-defeating,” he said adding that the Referendum Bill setting out the terms, timing and question posed in the new referendum would be published before the election.

“Let’s be nimble and light on our feet. And let’s leave nobody in any doubt that if the people of Scotland - and that is the determining factor - vote on 6 May next year to endorse the bill that bill will be delivered.”

Asked about a suspicion among some SNP supporters that the Scottish Government hadn’t got a Plan B, he said trust was key to advancing the independence goal.

“Well of course, that means there must be trust. I have espoused, supported and worked for independence all my adult life. The people I work within government are exactly the same and I don’t believe for a moment that any of them are backsliding on independence,” he said.

“I think we should all be able to trust one another on that we are all trying to get the same thing and I don’t believe that anybody has given up nor do I believe anybody has said ‘oh well if that’s it, that’s it’. I for one do not believe that any decision by Boris Johnson will be or could be binding.”

He said the various “Plan Bs” should be discussed including Joanna Cherry’s idea for a Holyrood bill to hold indyref2 and Angus MacNeil’s and Chris McEleny’s to negotiate independence.

On Cherry’s, he said: “It is a perfectly legitimate argument to have and it’s a good idea and it’s an idea that needs to be discussed and I’m sure Joanna will come along to the National Assembly and talk about it and I am very keen on that.

He added: “Chris McEleny and Angus MacNeil have been talking about starting negotiations, the difficulty with that is you have to have someone to negotiate with. You can’t just turn up at a table and hope someone else will turn up. But there’s no reason why this discussion shouldn’t take place.”

He added: “Let’s remember in our strategy if we give away everything we want to do, if we talk about everything we want to do, then those people who oppose it will just find new ways of opposing it ... If the people of Scotland want [independence] – that is the determining factor – if they want it, they will have it, and let’s talk about the various ways, the various options that exist and there are quite a number of them.”

Asked about whether his ideas are being talked about inside government, he said: “Of course, I am the minister responsible for this.” Pressed if these discussions included the First Minister, he added: “Well I won’t go into details about any conversations with Nicola but I think you can assume that Nicola and I talk from time to time.”