DAVID Coburn, former leader of UKIP in Scotland has claimed Brexit will lead to "the end" of the Scottish National Party.
Brexit Party politician David Coburn dismissed the notion that a no-deal Brexit would naturally lead to a break up of the United Kingdom, saying that there was a sizeable percentage of Scotland in favour of breaking away from the European Union.
And he claimed that even if Scotland became independent, it would be "impossible" to rejoin the European Union.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has already earmarked the second half of next year as the best time for Scots to have another vote on independence to avoid the potential impact of Brexit, although Westminster is unlikely to give the necessary consent for a legally binding ballot to be held.
But the former Brexit Party MEP speaking to RT UK suggested the increasing demands for Scotland's independence from the Scottish leader have been fuelled by her concern Brexit will be "the end of the SNP."
READ MORE: Senior SNP figures put forward independence referendum Plan B
"It [Brexit] will not lead to the break up of the United Kingdom. Forty per cent of Scots voted to leave the European Union. It is not an inconsequential minority, it is a very large amount of people.
"I think it would be the end of the Scottish National Party which is why Sturgeon is getting herself in a lather about it.
"She knows it’s the end of them. The Scottish National Party is not the party of Scottish independence – they want our fishing to be decided in Brussels, they want our oil to be decided in Brussels, they want the euro. What in the name of goodness is Scottish nationalist about that?
"I’m a Scottish patriot which means I could never be a Scottish nationalist. Scotland’s best interests lay in our 400-years-old alliance with the rest of the United Kingdom. That’s the future for us."
Mr Coburn also claimed European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker convinced him it would be "impossible" for Scotland to join the EU.
READ MORE: Majority now support early vote on second Scottish independence referendum
He added: "To think of Scotland joining, rejoining, the European Union is impossible.
"I spoke to Jean-Claude Juncker about it when I first got there and several times thereafter. He said, ‘we’d have to wait after Turkey joins the European Union.’ "I think if Turkey joins, there will be a lot of people wanting to leave by the exit doors."
Negotiations for Turkey's full membership of the European Union officially began in 2005 but have stalled over human rights violations and shortfalls in maintaining rule of law.
Last week, the European Union called for the release of 16 civil society representatives against who the Turkish court opened a trial, over their involvement in 2013 Gezi Park anti-government protests.
The EU stressed that use of prolonged pre-trial detention can undermine the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial of the defendant.
“The EU will continue to closely monitor this case as well as trials against journalists, members of parliament, human rights defenders, lawyers and academics with the highest level of scrutiny.”, stated the Union.
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