SNP minister: Swinney has discussed indyref2 with Starmer

The row comes on the eve of a major speech by the First Minister on independence - a subject he has been accused of keeping "off the radar" by former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Speaking on June 3 after a visit to Glasgow to launch the UK's defence review, Sir Keir said the First Minister was not discussing holding a second independence referendum with him.
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The Prime Minister was asked if he could imagine another independence referendum during his time as Prime Minister.
Sir Keir said: "No, and nobody's raising that with me as their first priority. Certainly, in the discussions I'm having with the First Minister, that is not - we're talking about jobs, energy, security, and dealing with the cost-of-living crisis."
But speaking on the BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland, Ms Martin said the matter had been discussed.
The presenter put it to the senior minister that Mr Swinney had not broached the subject of a second independence referendum with the Prime Minister.
"If he hasn't asked [for a new referendum], how does he expect to achieve", she was pressed.
Ms Martin replied: "I would imagine that the First Minister has broached that subject with the Prime Minister."
Last month Mr Swinney said a "democratic majority" of pro-independence MSPs following the next Scottish Parliament election should result in another referendum.
But in the same interview on June 3, the Prime Minister said whatever the outcome next May, an independence referendum is "not a priority".
Scots voted in an independence referendum in 2014, with the No side securing 55% of the vote. Successive UK governments have denied the SNP's requests for a second referendum.
Since coming into office last year the First Minister has been pretty quiet on his party's founding goal.
He scrapped Ms Sturgeon's Building a New Scotland series, documents aimed at updating the 2014 independence prospectus and axed the post of independence minister from government.
Back in January, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon declared that independence was "off the radar" - a claim swiftly rejected by Mr Swinney.
In July last year, during her appearance as a pundit on ITV's general election programme, Ms Sturgeon blamed a lack of focus on independence for the SNP's general election defeat, when it dropped from 48 Westminster seats to nine.
She said that the SNP 'left themselves between two stools on the independence question', adding that placing the constitution on the front page of the party's manifesto 'was never followed through on a sort of day-to-day basis in the campaign'.
In his post election speech, Mr Swinney seemed to suggest the problem was that the SNP had failed to persuading people why the party believed independence was needed.
He said that the SNP had 'failed to convince people of the urgency of independence in this election campaign', adding: 'Therefore, we need to take the time to consider and to reflect on how we deliver our commitment to independence, which remains absolute.'

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