Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should be allowed to veto a UK exit of the EU, says Plaid Cymru leader

The plan will infuriate right-wing Tories, because there are almost 40 million people in England who would be entitled to vote in a referendum

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said all four countries in the UK would have to agree to a EU pull-out (Getty)

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should be allowed to veto a UK exit of the EU, the leader of the Welsh nationalists said yesterday.

Leanne Wood said she was in regular contact with Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, and they agreed on the plan which would give the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish the power to compel England to stay in the EU even if a majority of the English electorate voted for withdrawal.

The plan will infuriate right-wing Tories, because there are almost 40 million people in England who would be entitled to vote in a referendum, compared with fewer than eight million in the other parts of the UK. Anti-EU sentiment runs higher in England than in Scotland or Wales.

Ms Wood, who has been leader of Plaid Cymru since March 2012, told Sky News’ Murnaghan programme: “My position is that the votes in each of the countries should be added up separately and we should only pull out of the EU if all four countries want to do that.”