LONDON, May 9 ― British Prime Minister Boris Johnson today wrote to Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon congratulating her on her election result and asking her to work together, Downing Street said.

"I believe passionately that the interests of people across the UK and in particular the people of Scotland are best served when we work together,” Johnson wrote to Sturgeon. 

He said the UK government wanted to work with Sturgeon’s government in a "cooperative spirit” as part of "Team UK”.

The letter to Sturgeon came after her SNP won a fourth term in the devolved parliament in Thursday’s poll.

Today, she repeated her demand for Johnson to allow a fresh independence referendum, something he has already ruled out.

In his letter, Johnson asked Sturgeon to take part in a "summit meeting to discuss our shared challenges” in planning the recovery after the pandemic.

The heads of the devolved parliaments of Wales and Northern Ireland would also receive invitations, he added.

The national leaders "will not always agree”, Johnson said, but he called for them to "build back better”.

Johnson, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph published earlier today, said he would not accede to the SNP’s demand for a fresh referendum even if it won an overall majority at Holyrood.

In the event it fell one seat short.

Sturgeon, in her victory speech after the SNP won 64 of the 129 seats at Holyrood, said there was "no democratic justification” for Westminster to deny a referendum.

The Scottish Greens, who also back an independence referendum, won eight seats in the parliament. ― AFP