LONDON, Jan 18 - Scotland's first minister, John Swinney, said on Sunday he would call for another independence referendum if his SNP won a majority in May's Scottish parliament elections, a result he added could end Keir Starmer's premiership.

Swinney, leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party which has governed Scotland for nearly 19 years, appealed to independence-minded voters to hand his party a big majority in May, when Wales will also vote in Welsh parliament elections and some voters in England will take part in local polls.