Lorna Slater in car crash interview over content of Scottish independence speech
dailyrecord.co.ukLorna Slater has refused to say if she was aware of the contents of Nicola Sturgeon's independence speech in advance yesterday.The Scottish Greens co-leader - who serves as Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity - was asked if the Scottish Government had communicated with her about what the First Minister was going to tell MSPs at Holyrood.BBC presenter John Beattie asked the MSP five times about the content of the speech - and she refused to say if she had been given advanced notice.READ MORE:Scottish independence LIVE as Nicola Sturgeon vows to hold referendum in October next year Sturgeon's speech was kept a close secret with only a handful of people in government reportedly aware of what she would announce.The SNP leader outlined plans to hold a second vote on Scottish independence on October 19, 2023.With the UK Government refusing to grant consent for such a ballot to be held, Sturgeon is asking the UK Supreme Court to rule if Holyrood can hold a referendum without the backing of Westminster.Following the speech Slater appeared alongside Scottish Lib Dems leader Alex Cole-Hamilton on radio to discuss what Sturgeon had announced.Here's the exchange between John Beattie (JB) and Lorna Slater (LS):JB: "Were you aware of the content of this speech before it was given?"LS: "Everything was held obviously in confidentiality."JB: "You weren’t?"JB: "So you weren’t?"LS: [silence]JB: "You weren’t?"LS: "The First Minister’s statement was not published before she spoke today."JB: "But you didn’t see it either?"LS: [silence]Alex Cole-Hamilton: "Wow."JB: "No.
So tell me something, again help me, the de facto referendum."LB: "I don’t know the nature of that term."JB: You don’t know, alright, ok.
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