NICOLA Sturgeon has claimed Jeremy Corbyn is “in a mess” over his position on a Labour Government facilitating a second Scottish independence referendum as she made clear that scrapping Trident would be another “red line” on securing SNP votes at Westminster.

The First Minister’s comments came after Labour’s John McDonnell suggested a Corbyn Government would not facilitate a second vote on Scotland’s future until 2023 at the earliest, saying it might not agree to another referendum for “two or three years”.

The Shadow Chancellor told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "I wouldn't expect anything in the first two or three years because the Scottish people themselves are saying we've got to concentrate on austerity and get that sorted.

"We've got to concentrate on sorting out Brexit. Above all else, we've got an existential threat of climate change. That's a huge agenda,” declared Mr McDonnell.

He claimed holding a second referendum would be a “distraction from that," and insisted there would be no change to that stance, even if the SNP made holding a referendum in 2020 a red line in post-election negotiations.

But the SNP leader - who during the BBC Question Time leaders’ special on Friday argued the Labour leader would not sacrifice his programme for Government for the sake of denying Scotland a chance to vote on its future next year - made the same point on Sky News.

She said: “Are they really going to turn their back on the chance to stop austerity, stop welfare cuts, get rid of Universal Credit just because they want to block the right of the Scottish people to decide their own future? And over a couple of years?

“Jeremy Corbyn is getting himself into a mess over this because his position is changing all the time and he knows within himself that the only democratic defensible position here is to say for him - he might oppose independence, he might not want there to be another referendum - it is not for Westminster to decide these things, it’s for the Scottish people through their democratically elected Scottish Parliament to decide these things.

“That’s the position Jeremy Corbyn knows is right and I don't think he is going to turn his back on all of these other things he wants to do with a Labour government just because he’s so determined to block the right of the Scottish Parliament to determine the timing of a referendum,” the FM insisted.

Ms Sturgeon argued that a hung Parliament with the SNP holding the balance of power would “give Scotland maximum influence so that will be a pretty good outcome in terms of ensuring Scotland’s voice is heard”.

She explained how her “first red line” would be to “never, ever put Boris Johnson into Downing St,” saying she had seen up close and over too many years the damage a Tory Government had done to the sort of communities she grew up in.

“In terms of supporting a minority Labour Government, I’ve been clear that we wouldn’t have a formal coalition, it would be a less formal arrangement.”

The SNP leader also pointed to what would be her other demands for supporting Labour in Parliament such as stopping Brexit, putting a “real end” to austerity and until such time as Scotland became independent and seeing the devolution of powers of migration and employment to Holyrood,

This would enable MSPs to protect workers’ rights, end the misery of Universal Credit and welfare cuts, the rape clause, the two-child cap, she explained.

“These are the policies, progressive policies that resonate strongly in Scotland but very strongly with many people across the UK,” declared Ms Sturgeon.

Asked if scrapping Trident would be another SNP red line, the party leader replied: “Yes, absolutely, that’s another matter that we would absolutely be firm about and that’s tied if you like to some of these other policies.

“I’ve been very clear; I have a moral objection to weapons of mass destruction and, unlike Jo Swinson, I wouldn’t be prepared to press a nuclear button that would kill potentially tens of millions of people but there’s also the opportunity costs of Trident, the tens of billions of pounds that are required for Trident are better spent on stronger conventional defence, that is more effective to protect our country, but also on hospitals and schools and better social security provision and these are the choices we should be thinking very carefully about.

“If the SNP are in that position of influence, then these are absolutely the kind of policies that we will pursue,” added the Nationalist leader.