NICOLA Sturgeon has accused Tory ministers of “repeated attempts to block democracy” after the UK Government will call on the Supreme Court to throw out Holyrood’s attempt to hold its own independence referendum.

The First Minister has appealed to her top law officer, the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, to ask the Supreme Court to give a view on whether a draft Bill which would let the Scottish Parliament hold a referendum without UK Government permission, would have legal confidence.

But the UK Government has now argued that the case should thrown out immediately.

In papers filed with the Supreme Court, UK Government lawyers have pointed to the court being asked to give a view on legislation that is only in draft form and could be amended as it moves through Holyrood and is 'premature'.

The UK Government is expected to argue that the Scotland Act sets out a process to test whether legislation is within the competence of Holyrood – which starts after the Bill has been completely passed by MSPs in full.

But the UK Government still believes that the question of holding a referendum falls outside the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.

In response, a spokesperson for Ms Sturgeon has insisted that the UK Government’s “unwillingness to even make a substantive argument” before the court shows “how little confidence it has in its case for the union”.

READ MORE: UK Government asks Supreme Court to throw out referendum bid

He said: “People in Scotland have voted for a Parliament with a clear majority in favour of independence and with a mandate for an independence referendum. The Scottish Government fully intends to offer the Scottish people the choice of independence and has set out how it will do so.

“The UK Government’s repeated attempts to block democracy – which now seem to extend to an unwillingness to even make a substantive argument before the Supreme Court – serve only to demonstrate how little confidence it has in its case for the union.

“However, whether the reference is accepted, how long it takes to determine and what judgment is arrived at are all matters for the Court to determine. The reference is now before the Supreme Court, and the Court should be allowed to fulfil its function.”