ANDY Burnham has rejected a second Scottish independence referendum if he becomes prime minister.
Burnham told MPs that he is "not willing to consider" a second vote, despite his support for further devolution.
The former Greater Manchester Mayor made the comments during a meeting with Scottish Labour MPs last week, the Mail on Sunday reports.
It is understood he spoke to around 25 of Labour's 36 Scottish MPs on Wednesday afternoon in Westminster.
Sources at the meeting told the Mail on Sunday that Burnham was firm in his opposition to a second referendum, with one attendee saying: "Andy was crystal clear that it is not something he is going to be considering".
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Another MP said that Burnham "made the point that he's not a fan of referendums, isn't going to be granting one, and it's not something he is willing to consider".
It comes after Burnham pledged to speak to the Celtic Alliance leaders "soon" on an "ask me anything" post on social media platform Reddit.
Burnham, who could become prime minister as soon as July 17 if he runs uncontested, was asked how he would like his relationship with the devolved governments to work, and how they would interact with his plans for devolution.
He responded: "I would like it to be as collaborative and pragmatic as possible.
"I want the same offer to power up places to be available in all parts of the UK.
"I will speak soon to First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to agree a positive way of working to this end."
Burnham had previously vowed to increase devolution across the UK – including the devolved nations – with plans for a "Number 10 North" based in Manchester to redistribute power.
He faced a wave of criticism after saying that people in Dundee and Bangor "feel just as distant from Holyrood and the Senedd as they do from Westminster", with First Minister John Swinney saying the comments demonstrated "Andy Burnham's lack of knowledge about Scotland".
The SNP have been approached for comment.
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