Former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars has claimed that Nicola Sturgeon "willingly misled" SNP supporters who believed in a 2020 indyref.

Following Sturgeon's admission that indyref2 might not happen in 2020, Sillars called her out on her previous promises of an indyref2020.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, Sillars said: “Stripped of its fluff, Nicola Sturgeon's speech was a capitulation to reality – no indyref2 until there is an overwhelming demand for it, wait until Brexit is done and digested, no illegality, and a longish road ahead.

“She has been accused by those who marched up and down Scotland to her orders, as a 'betrayer.' The truth is they were willingly misled, and should have known that if you go to the top of the hill for an impossible purpose, you have to come back down with nothing.”

Following Boris Johnson's refusal to another Section 30 order, Sturgeon has placed emphasis on having a second referendum as soon as possible.

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With the necessary legal framework blocked, however, Sturgeon maintains that she wants a “legal, legitimate and agreed” referendum – something she admits may not happen in her proposed timeframe.

Sillars suggested that rather than independence, the SNP should instead focus on whether or not to “back or oppose and try to weaken the strong pre-negotiation stand taken by Boris Johnson”.

He said it was a “new opportunity for the SNP Westminster group to become relevant".

An SNP spokesperson said: “The people of Scotland voted overwhelmingly for an SNP manifesto committed to an independence referendum this year – that is the democratic mandate which should be respected and which Boris Johnson is running scared of.

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“We are being dragged out of the world's biggest single market against our will – becoming an equal, independent member of the EU will protect and build a more prosperous society. It's imperative that Scotland now has the right to choose that better future."