The SNP is refocusing its independence strategy in anticipation of Boris Johnson’s departure, aiming to persuade voters the next Prime Minister will be just as bad for Scotland.

Instead of depicting independence as an escape from a UK led by a man viewed as toxic north of the border, the party will instead argue that Westminster itself is the problem.

The change in the SNP’s attack strategy became evident a matter of minutes after Downing Street confirmed the Prime Minister was poised to announce his exit on Thursday morning.

At 9.34am, Ms Sturgeon released a statement on Twitter that specifically sought to downplay Mr Johnson’s relevance to the case for independence.

“For Scotland, the democratic deficit inherent in Westminster government doesn’t get fixed with a change of PM,” she wrote, arguing that the problems “run much deeper than one individual” and that “the Westminster system is broken”.

This argument is likely to be reinforced in the days ahead, when Tory leadership candidates will inevitably be asked if they would consider transferring the powers needed to hold indyref2 to Scotland should they become Prime Minister.

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