Boris Johnson will not grant a new referendum on Scottish independence before the next general election, according to Michael Gove.

The senior Cabinet minister said the Prime Minister’s focus was completely focused on recovery from the pandemic “for the lifetime of this parliament” and that it was “foolish” to talk about an independence poll while the country is still recovering from Covid.

His comments – which are likely to infuriate the SNP – appear to go further than other ministers who have said that this is the wrong time for another referendum.

Asked in an interview with The Daily Telegraph whether there was “any circumstance” in which Mr Johnson would approve a referendum before a May 2024 election, Mr Gove said: “I don’t think so.”

Asked whether his position was that “there will be no referendum before the 2024 election”, he replied: “I can’t see it.”

After pro-independence parties won a majority in the elections to the Scottish Parliament in May, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was “a matter of when, not if” there would be a second referendum.

Mr Gove’s intervention may heighten the chances that the SNP could try to hold a unilateral referendum without the approval of Westminster, which would almost certainly result in a legal battle through the courts.

He said: “The Prime Minister is completely focused on making sure that, for the lifetime of this parliament, we increase economic opportunity, we provide people with the chance to make more of their lives, take control of their futures.  And that’s quite rightly what the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom’s focus should be.

“It seems to me to be at best reckless, at worst folly, to try to move the conversation on to constitutional division when people expect us to be working together in order to deal with these challenges.”