The first minister has told parliament her administration is carrying out “appropriate planning” to prepare for the “economic shock” a vote to leave the European Union would cause.
Nicola Sturgeon said while she hoped next week’s referendum would not result in the UK quitting the EU, and it was her “duty is to seek to protect Scotland’s interests in all circumstances”.
She confirmed to MSPs at Holyrood she is “ensuring that appropriate planning for all eventualities is being undertaken by the Scottish Government”.
The SNP leader also repeated her warning that if the vote on June 23 results in Scotland being removed from the EU “against our democratically expressed will”, this could result in a second Scottish independence referendum.
Polls in Scotland have continued to show a majority of people want the UK to remain in Europe while more recent polls across the UK have put the Leave campaign in the lead.
The first minister said that “if Scotland faces the prospect of being taken out of the European Union against our democratically expressed will, then all options to protect our relationship with Europe and the European Union will require to be considered”.
She spoke out after being questioned by Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale on the impact the EU referendum could have north of the border.
Ms Dugdale, who raised the issue at First Minister’s Questions, warned that “sudden shocks” such as a vote for Brexit would hit the country’s economy and would also “have a damaging impact on our ability to fund public services”.
She asked Ms Sturgeon what contingency planning was being carried out in case there was a “shock to the UK economy”.