After the landslide victory by Tory leader Boris Johnson, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon  said her devolved government would publish a "detailed democratic case" for a transfer of power from London to allow a fresh independence referendum in Scotland.

Sturgeon said the strong support for her party in the UK general election clearly underlined the need for Scotland to be given another chance to vote on the issue.

The Conservative Party lost seven of its 13 seats in Scotland.

"This is not about asking Prime Minister Boris Johnson or any other Westminster politician for permission," Sturgeon said after it emerged that her party had won in 48 of the 59 Scottish constituencies. "It is an assertion of the democratic right of the people of Scotland to determine their own future," she added.

Addressing Johnson directly, she said: "You as the leader of a defeated party in Scotland have no right to stand in the way."