The Scottish Government has refused to say whether a long-awaited IndyRef2 bill will be published before Holyrood enters recess.
It is now unclear if the legislation will come out before the end of June.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has committed her Government to a second referendum by the end of 2023.
The SNP leader wants a joint agreement with the UK Government to underpin a vote - but Boris Johnson ’s refusal means she may opt for a Holyrood-only bill.
Sturgeon said in January that the Government would soon decide the date for lodging the bill, fuelling the hopes of pro-independence supporters that it was imminent.
She said: “The preparatory work of that (holding a second referendum) is under way right now. We haven’t decided on the date we would seek to introduce the bill, we’ll decide that in the coming weeks.”
Around three weeks are left before Holyrood goes into summer recess, with MSPs coming back in September.
Asked if the referendum bill would definitely be published before recess, a spokesperson for the First Minister said:
“I’m not going to get into issues of the bill, other than what the First Minister is on record as saying, for no other reason than if I was to start talking about the bill introduction.. we’ve got a PO [Presiding Officer] who would probably come down on us like a ton of bricks.”
Asked if it would be published this year, he said: “Yes”.
Asked why he could confirm it would come out this year, but not this month, he replied: “Because I am not going to get into specific timing.”
Experts believe the Scottish Government will face a Supreme Court challenge if they push ahead with a referendum without UK Government agreement.
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