Nicola Sturgeon to set out strategy to garner support from EU27 states for indyref2 campaign

She believes an independent Scotland would be fast-tracked into becoming a new EU member state.

READ MORE: 61% of Scots believe Holyrood should have final say on Scottish independence referendum

At the weekend, Boris Johnson, who will deliver a formal address to the nation on Friday as Whitehall is lit up in the Union colours of red, white and blue, insisted Britons should “look ahead with confidence to a global, trail-blazing country we will become over the next decade”.

On Wednesday, Ms Sturgeon is due to reveal her strategy to confound the Prime Minister’s cast-iron refusal to facilitate another vote on Scotland’s future.

As she does so, her colleague Ian Blackford, who leads the Nationalists at Westminster, will meet ambassadors from the EU27 in London to seek to garner their backing for the Scottish Government’s cause.

Earlier this month, Mr Blackford told The Herald how the SNP would seek to create a “broad-based” campaign in support of indyref2 at home and abroad with a focus on smaller EU member states.

Asked about the grand alliance proposal on the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland, the Highland MP said: “We have to mobilise public opinion. One of the things the FM will be doing is outlining that on Wednesday.

“Simultaneously, I will be meeting with EU ambassadors in London to press the case for Scotland’s right to have that referendum and for our European friends to stand with us.”

Mr Blackford denied he would ask for official support from the EU as a whole, explaining: "We would begin a process of engagement with our European friends and[ask them] to keep a light on for us.

“One of the things we will be doing is seeking to engage with civic Scotland. I’m grateful many figures in the Labour movement have recognised it is about Scotland's right to choose. Are people in Scotland prepared to sit back and see Government in London ready to ignore their democratic rights? This is the beginning of a process.”

Recently, Michael Russell, the Scottish Government’s Constitutional Relations Secretary, referred to how the SNP administration had “many options” to further its case for indyref2 but did not elaborate.

At the weekend, Mhairi Black, the SNP’s Scotland spokeswoman at Westminster, insisted she wanted another referendum to be done “by the book” – Mr Blackford referred to the 2014 poll as the “gold standard” – although the Paisley MP also suggested there could still be “mileage” in pushing for an unofficial Catalan-style poll. The Union in Scotland campaign called on the FM to rule out such a "wildcat" vote.

The SNP leadership has not formally ruled out a court challenge, although given Westminster remains the constitutional authority on referendums, it is thought by many this route would be doomed to failure.

Senior SNP MP Angus Brendan MacNeil has floated the idea of making the 2021 Holyrood poll an effective referendum in that if the SNP were to get a majority of seats, then this would automatically lead to independence.

On Monday in the Commons a deal of political heat is expected as the SNP leads a debate on the Claim of Right.

READ MORE: Iain Macwhirter: In post-Brexit Britain, Nicola Sturgeon can't keep telling her troops that Indyref2 is round the corner. It isn't

But a senior Conservative MP suggested Ms Sturgeon, Mr Blackford and their colleagues were engaged in a lost cause.

He told The Herald: “There is absolutely no way Boris is going to allow another referendum. As long as he is in Downing St, it will just not happen.”

During Brexit Week:

*Chancellor Sajid Javid unveiled a new commemorative 50p coin to mark Britain's withdrawal;

*on Monday the Government launches a campaign, urging businesses and citizens to check for any changes they need to make ahead of January 2021 when the transition period ends;

*on Wednesday after PMQs, Mr Johnson will hold another “People’s PMQs” on Facebook from inside Downing St;

*on Thursday schoolchildren will be invited to No 10 to ask the PM about the future he intends to build for the first post-Brexit generation;

*on Friday, Brexit Day, the Cabinet will meet in northern England, there will be a light-show across Whitehall, using the Union colours of red, white and blue, a countdown to Brexit clock will be projected onto the façade of No 10, Union flags will be hoisted around Parliament Square and down the Mall and the PM will deliver his TV address to the nation and

*on Saturday the Government's new "GREAT 'Ready to Trade'" campaign will launch in 17 cities across 13 countries outside EU as Britain seeks to build a raft of future trading relationships.

Lord Heseltine, the former Deputy Prime Minister and prominent Remainer, warned Mr Johnson: “It is unwise of the Government to rub our noses in it by celebrating our defeat at this hour whilst talking about unifying the country."