Scotland 'highly likely' to hold second independence vote after EU vote: Sturgeon

[June 24, 2016]    LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland is highly likely to hold a second independence referendum, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Friday, adding she would do what was necessary to secure the country's place in the European Union after Britain voted to leave the bloc.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon leaves after voting in the EU referendum, at Broomhouse Community Hall in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain June 23, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

"It is a statement of the obvious that the option of a second referendum must be on the table and it is on the table," she told reporters.

"I think an independence referendum is now highly likely," she added.

Scotland, which held its previous independence referendum in 2014, voted by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent to remain in the EU in Thursday's referendum, putting it at odds with Britain as a whole, which voted 52-48 percent in favor of Leave.

Sturgeon added: "I want to make it absolutely clear today that I intend to take all possible steps and explore all options to give effect to how people in Scotland voted, in other words to secure our continuing place in the EU and in the single market."

(Reporting by Ana Nicolaci da Costa; editing by Stephen Addison)

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.