Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said the Prime Minister had made clear that independence was ‘off limits’Prime Minister Andy Burnham told John Swinney Scottish independence was “off limits” in a meeting on Thursday, according to the Scottish Secretary. During the meeting, which also included Douglas Alexander and Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth, the issue of Scottish independence was raised. The First Minister and Prime Minister met on Thursday (Alastair Grant/PA)“Up front, the Prime Minister made clear that independence was off limits.” “But Andy, in a very reasonable way, was pretty open in saying, ‘listen, respectfully, we’ll agree to disagree on a referendum, and independence is off limits.” “The Prime Minister takes a different view.”