In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neil, Ms Swinson also apologised for the coalition government’s austerity measures, and insisted she would stay on as Lib Dem leader even if her faltering campaign meant the party failed to make gains on 12 December.

Asked if she would trade a second EU referendum for an agreement to hold indyref2, Ms Swinson replied: “No. I’m not going to support a second referendum in Scotland with all the extra chaos that brings.”

She said she did not expect the nationalists to hold a referendum to stop Brexit for ransom, adding: “I will vote for a People’s Vote on the Brexit deal and I think SNP members of parliament will also vote for that legislation because they will know that that’s what people in Scotland want.”

Jo Swinson said she would stay on as Lib Dem leader. Picture: PA

At a rally in Edinburgh this evening, Ms Swinson will warns supporters that the SNP will call indyref2 “within days” if the SNP win more Westminster seats.

Meanwhile, with the Lib Dems sliding in the polls, Ms Swinson denied it was a mistake for the party to have adopted a policy of revoking Article 50 without a referendum if it became the biggest party at Westminster.

“I think when you look at the beginning of this campaign and over the summer we had four parties all around 20 per cent in the polls, which in a first past the post voting system creates a huge amount of volatility and uncertainly,” she told Mr Neil.

But having claimed she was a candidate for Prime Minister, Ms Swinson admitted that “when you look at the polls that’s not the most likely scenario”.

Asked about welfare cuts and austerity measures that she voted for, Ms Swinson said: “I am sorry that I did that. It was not the right policy. And we should have stopped it… some cuts were necessary but the shape of those cuts and certainly the balance between cuts and tax rises I don’t think was the right balance.”

Jo Swinson rules out working with SNP to stop Brexit if it means indyref2