Scottish Prime Minister Nicolas Sturgeon called for independence from the United Kingdom following a post-Brexit trade agreement between the European Union and Britain.
"It is important to remember that Brexit is against the will of Scotland, and no agreement can ever compensate for what Brexit took from us," Sturgeon said in a tweet on Twitter. "It is time to chart our own future as an independent European country."
Before the spin starts, it's worth remembering that Brexit is happening against Scotland's will.
And there is no deal that will ever make up for what Brexit takes away from us.
It's time to chart our own future as an independent, European nation.
- Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) December 24, 2020
Last December, the British government rejected the demands of the Prime Minister of Scotland to hold a new referendum on independence after leaving the European Union, saying that "this would be a destructive measure and would undermine the results of the previous vote that was held 5 years ago."
She added that holding a second independence referendum would undermine the decisive outcome of the 2014 referendum, and the pledge made to the people of Scotland that such a referendum will only take place once in a generation.
On Thursday, the European Union and Britain reached a trade agreement for the post-Brexit period, following several previous attempts that ended in stalemate.
"The agreement is fair and balanced," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, describing the negotiations as long and difficult.
For his part, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that "his country regained control of its sovereignty through this agreement, which he described as historic."