Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Monday she believed Prime Minister Boris Johnson was pursuing a no-deal Brexit. 

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the new prime minster in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said there was no clarity on how he planned to reach a new exit deal when the European Union has repeatedly said it will not renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement it reached with his predecessor Theresa May.

"That makes me think that whatever Boris Johnson might be saying publicly about his preference being to strike a deal, in reality he is really pursuing a no-deal Brexit because that is the logic of the hardline position that he has taken," she said.

"I think that is extremely dangerous for Scotland, indeed for the whole of the UK."

The country's new leader was on a trip to Scotland, part of a countrywide tour to win support for his "do or die" pledge to leave the European Union by October 31. 

He told Sturgeon that while he would prefer to negotiate a new exit deal with the EU, Britain would be leaving the bloc on October 31 "come what may", his office said. 

Last week, Sturgeon wrote to Johnson to say she would continue preparations for a second independence referendum. 

Scotland rejected independence by a 55-45 majority in 2014 but then voted to stay in the EU at the 2016 Brexit referendum, fueling calls for a second independence vote from those who argue it is being taken out of the bloc against its wishes. 

"It is not in my view a democratic position to block the right of the people of Scotland to choose and I made that clear to him," Sturgeon said on Monday.  

The Scottish government will consider the timetable of its push for another vote over the summer, she said, adding: "Obviously what happens over that period with the negotiations around Brexit will have an impact on the decision that we make."

Before arriving in Wales on Tuesday, the new prime minister said he would tell Welsh farmers on Tuesday they will get a better deal after Brexit.

"I will always back Britain's great farmers and as we leave the EU we need to make sure that Brexit works for them," Johnson said before arriving in Wales.

"Once we leave the EU on 31 October, we will have a historic opportunity to introduce new schemes to support farming – and we will make sure that farmers get a better deal. Brexit presents enormous opportunities for our country and it's time we looked to the future with pride and optimism."

Many farmers fear a no-deal Brexit could threaten their livelihoods by suddenly removing subsidies, blocking their access to European markets and leaving them vulnerable to competition from lower-cost producers like the United States that do not match European animal welfare standards.

Johnson said leaving the EU would allow the government to scrap the Common Agricultural Policy – a system of farm subsidies unpopular in Britain which contributes more than it receives – and sign new trade deals to expand the market.

But by playing hardball with the EU by telling its leaders that he will only talk when they drop their insistence on not renegotiating the deal, he has increased the likelihood of a no deal exit, which he says he does not want.

On Monday, the pound tumbled to its lowest point against the dollar since early 2017 on the strengthened rhetoric.

(Cover: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses for a photograph with Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at Bute House in Edinburgh, Britain, July 29, 2019. /Reuters Photo)

(With input from Reuters)