Salmond claims Sturgeon is allowing independence to slip off agenda after election win

Alex Salmond has warned that Nicola Sturgeon is squandering a golden opportunity to win independence by allowing separation to slip off the political agenda.

The former First Minister said his successor should be exploiting the UK Government’s “weakness” and “forcing the issue” of independence now, and warned that “the chance may be missed” if she continues to delay.

Ms Sturgeon has said that her main priority is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and that she will only ramp up her drive for a new referendum once the immediate crisis is over.

"Independence should be right up there, first and foremost, in terms of dealing with the pandemic, in terms of recovery and economic recovery from it,” Mr Salmond said.

"We should be talking about the constitutional question in Scotland, we should be forcing the issue because London has never been weaker and Scotland has never been stronger in political terms.

"But if we allow it to slip off the political agenda to allow the Johnson Government to regain its political balance, then the chance may be missed, and may never come again.”

He claimed there was an "unarguable" mandate for independence following the Scottish elections, which saw the SNP fail to win a majority by one seat but the Greens win eight MSPs, but added: "Mandates that are not used can sometimes be lost."

He added: "It is only two weeks since the Scottish election and yet the constitutional issue is already gradually slipping off the political agenda."

There are no indications that Ms Sturgeon intends to formally request powers to hold a new referendum from the UK Government imminently, although she has said she wants another vote to take place by 2023.

Ms Sturgeon has also admitted that her economic case for independence is now out of date and has struggled to explain what currency Scotland would use and how the border with England would operate if the country was to become a sovereign state and rejoin the EU.

Mr Salmond failed to win any MSPs with his new Alba Party at this month’s election, but despite the humiliation, he has said the outfit will continue and stand candidates in next year’s local government elections.

It remains unclear whether he intends to stand as permanent party leader at Alba’s first conference in September.