No, No, No! Cameron slaps down Sturgeon's demands over tax and the EU and tells her to forget about another referendum

.Prime Minister travelled to Edinburgh for face-to-face talks with SNP chief

• .Cameron ruled out a second referendum or giving Edinburgh an EU veto
• .He also refused to grant Holyrood immediate new powers other than those already agreed in the wake of the referendum last year
• .However, the PM agreed to look at granting further powers in the future
• .Ms Sturgeon said the offer did not go far enough following the election

By TOM MCTAGUE, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE and GARETH ROSE FOR THE DAILY MAIL

David Cameron rejected a trio of core SNP demands during 'frank' face-to-face talks with Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh today.

The Prime Minister ruled out granting Scotland a second independence referendum or giving the country a veto over Britain's place in the European Union. He also flatly rejected giving Holyrood full control over tax and spending north of the border - a key SNP demand.

Mr Cameron told the SNP leader he would consider further devolution to Scotland in the future - but not until the package of measures already agreed had been delivered. 

The Prime Minister held talks with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon - alongside the Scottish Secretary David Mundell (second left) and Deputy First Minister John Swinney (second right)

David Cameron met Nicola Sturgeon at Bute House in Edinburgh this morning, as an SNP source revealed that Scots would choose to leave the UK if a vote was held tomorrow

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon greeted Mr Cameron, as he arrives for their meeting in Edinburgh

Ms Sturgeon welcomed the Prime Minister to her official residence at Bute House, Edinburgh, with a demand for sweeping new powers above and beyond what was agreed by the 'Smith Commission' after last year's referendum campaign.

Under the proposals, agreed by the SNP and all the major Westminster parties, the Scottish Parliament will be given more control over tax and spending but not 'full fiscal autonomy'.

In the meeting today, Mr Cameron said he was open to the possibility of granting further powers to Holyrood, but warned the Smith Commission proposals must be implemented first.

With the Union in growing jeopardy he promised a closer working relationship between the Scottish and UK governments based around a 'respect agenda'.

But in a series of rebukes for the SNP he:

• Promised to hold Alex Salmond to his 'once in generation' promise and refuse a second independence referendum.
• Rejected SNP demands for full fiscal autonomy – control of all taxes – saying Scotland will need the UK's financial might following the oil price crash.
• Refused Nicola Sturgeon's request for a Scotland veto on his promise of an in-out EU referendum by the end of 2017.
• Warned the Smith Commission must be put into law before extra powers are discussed, putting it back years.

In the meeting today, Mr Cameron said he was open to the possibility of granting further powers to Holyrood, but warned the Smith Commission proposals must be implemented first

The Prime Minister left Bute House after talks with Nicola Sturgeon which lasted around an hour this morning

After the talks, Mr Cameron said he had had a 'very positive meeting' with the SNP leader.

He said: 'I made a commitment before the election, if I was the Prime Minister I would implement the Smith Commission report in full by introducing a Scotland Bill in the first Queen's Speech and I can confirm that is exactly what I will do.'

But he stressed that he did not support SNP demands for full fiscal autonomy, which would make the Scottish Parliament responsible for raising all the money it spends.

He said: 'I don't support full fiscal autonomy. I put it like this - Scotland has voted to stay part of the United Kingdom and I'm delighted about that.

'I want people in Scotland to know that the whole of the United Kingdom stands behind your pensions, stands behind unemployment benefit, will stand behind Scotland if it has a difficult year, if the oil price goes down.'

He said there was 'an honest disagreement' with Ms Sturgeon about the issue, but added: 'We will deliver the stronger Scottish Parliament, be in no doubt about it.'

While Mr Cameron appears open to considering further powers for Scotland, he said he did not believe a second independence referendum was 'remotely on the cards'.

While the prospect of a second referendum did not come up during the talks, Mr Cameron ruled out the prospect in a series of interviews after his meeting with Ms Sturgeon. 

After the meeting Ms Sturgeon said her MPs would try to attach 'full fiscal autonomy' to the Scotland Bill enacting the Smith proposals, even though the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned it would blow a £7.6billion black hole in the country's finances following the oil price crash.

Last week, the SNP won 56 out of a Scotland's 59 seats, while the Tories stayed with one – new Scottish Secretary David Mundell.

David Cameron - arriving at Bute House in Edinburgh this morning - has promised a devolution Bill for Scotland in the Government's Queen's Speech in a fortnight

Mr Cameron and the Scottish First Minister met for the first time since the general election, in which it is expected increased powers for the Scottish Parliament will dominate the agenda

Miss Sturgeon has said that if the UK votes to leave the EU in a referendum, and a majority of Scots back staying in, that could trigger a second referendum

WHAT HAS CAMERON PROMISED... AND WHAT IS STURGEON STILL DEMANDING?

The Scottish Government has been promised a raft of new powers through the Smith Commission:

INCOME TAX 

Full control of all rates and bands. This will allow MSPs to increase or lower the existing 20p, 40p and 45p rates, introduce new bands and set their own tax thresholds.

WELFARE 

Devolution of the Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance (which helps pay personal care costs for elderly disabled Scots), Carer’s Allowance and the Motability scheme that enables disabled people to lease a new car.

AIR PASSENGER DUTY 

Devolution of the so-called ‘tourism tax’. The charge is levied on departures from British airports and the UK is one of only five European countries to impose such a tax

ELECTIONS 

The power over Scottish elections and the Scottish parliament’s electoral rules. This will allow MSPs to lower the voting age in Holyrood contests to 16, as it was in September’s independence referendum, and extend (or cut) the four-year parliamentary term.

FURTHER SNP DEMANDS 

Employment policy, the minimum wage, all welfare, business taxes, national insurance and equality policy – and full fiscal autonomy, where Scotland seizes control of all taxes

Ms Sturgeon has said the Prime Minister must take note and build on his devolution offer, which she called a 'starting point'. But he indicated any further powers would be some way off, especially as powers recommended by the previous Calman Commission were not yet in place.

'What we agreed was first of all let's implement Smith, make sure it really is Smith. We're looking at welfare and making sure the clauses reflect what that agreement was,' Mr Cameron said.

'But I think there's a problem, we haven't yet implemented Calman, let alone implement Smith. We haven't got the tax powers coming in April 2016, so let's implement that so people can see the massive power over tax and spending that the Scottish Parliament will have.'

However, he added: 'The First Minister wants to send some proposals for me to look at, I'm quite happy to look at proposals. I don't rule out making other changes if sensible suggestions are made.'

Ms Sturgeon has said that if the UK votes to leave the EU in a referendum, and a majority of Scots back staying in, that could trigger a second referendum.

She has called for a veto for Scotland – as well as England, Wales and Northern Ireland – so the UK could not leave the EU without the agreement of all four.

But Mr Cameron dismissed this as hypocritical. 'We put forward in our manifesto the clearest possible pledge of an in-out referendum by the end of 2017. That has now been backed in a UK General Election and I believe I have a mandate for that,' he said.

'Rather in the same way the SNP felt they had a mandate for their referendum, they didn't give Orkney, Shetland and the Borders an opt-out.'

Miss Sturgeon described the meeting as 'constructive and business-like'.

'Two things of significance were agreed at the meeting,' she said.

'Firstly, there was a commitment from the Prime Minister that the legislation that they will shortly introduce to the Westminster parliament to implement the proposals of the Smith Commission will implement those proposals in full.

'We had a report of a Scottish Parliament committee yesterday which said that where they have got to thus far doesn't fully implement the Smith Commission proposals.

'So, there is a commitment to do that, and we will make sure that happens.

'Secondly, I have said we will put forward proposals for devolution further than the Smith Commission proposals.

'The Prime Minister has said they would consider those proposals.

'I am not going to put words in his mouth and say he has agreed any specific proposals, but there is an agreement to look at that and there will be a meeting with Deputy First Minister and the Secretary of State for Scotland to take that discussion forward.'

She added: 'I want Scotland to have full fiscal autonomy, David Cameron doesn't, but what we said in our manifesto was that there were priority powers over and above the Smith Commission that we wanted to see devolved.

'So, what we are talking about are business taxes and employment legislation, the minimum wage and more powers over welfare.'

Today's historic meeting comes after Ms Sturgeon was forced to slap down a 'senior SNP source' who claimed a second independence referendum could be called without UK-wide agreement. 

The Prime Minister held talks with the Scottish Conservative Party leader Ruth Davidson, left, after his meeting with Nicola Sturgeon

In his meeting with the SNP, Mr Cameron said he was open to the possibility of granting further powers to Holyrood

The senior party source in Westminster said Scots, who rejected independence last September, would choose to leave the UK if a vote was held tomorrow, adding: 'You only have to win once.'

If Westminster refused to allow another referendum, Holyrood could simply hold one unilaterally and declare secession if it returns a 'yes' vote, the source suggested.

But a spokesman for Ms Sturgeon said the bombshell claim was 'totally wrong' and reiterated that there were 'no plans' for a second poll, despite last week's landslide general election victory for the SNP in Scotland.