THE political cat and mouse over Brexit and independence continued at Holyrood as a majority of MSPs voted in favour of a second referendum.

No sooner had the MSPs backed a bid to hold the poll than the UK Government said there would be no deal and no talks entered into.

Ahead of the vote Nicola Sturgeon confirmed her timetable of action for her next moves.

The First Minister said she would wait until after the Prime Minister, Theresa May triggers Article 50 to begin the Process of Brexit before submitting her formal request for powers to hold a referendum.

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that she would return to Holyrood after the Easter recess in three weeks and set out her next step.

Before the request has even been submitted however, the UK Government said it would be knocked back.

A spokeswoman said:”The Prime Minister has been clear that now is not the time for an independence referendum, and we will not be entering into negotiations on the Scottish Government’s proposal.”

MSPs voted 69 to 59 in favour of seeking a second referendum with the Greens and SNP in favour and the Conservatives, Labour and he LibDems voting against.

The First Minister said it would be “indefensible” for the UK Government to stand in the way of a referendum.

Ms Sturgeon said: “It is now the will of Scotland’s democratically elected national parliament that discussions should begin with the UK Government to enable an independence referendum to be held.

“Today’s vote must now be respected. The mandate for a referendum is beyond question, and it would be democratically indefensible and utterly unsustainable to attempt to stand in the way of it.”

She added: “This is, first and foremost, about giving the people of Scotland a choice on this country’s future.

“We know that Brexit threatens a hugely damaging and uncertain future for Scotland, and it would not be right if the people of Scotland, having been told in 2014 that the only way to protect our place in Europe was to vote against independence, were denied a choice.”

The UK Government spokeswoman said: “At this point, all our focus should be on our negotiations with the European Union, making sure we get the right deal for the whole of the UK. It would be unfair to the people of Scotland to ask them to make a crucial decision without the necessary information about our future relationship with Europe.”