Sinn Fein wants vote on Northern Ireland leaving UK 'as soon as possible'

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill speak to media outside Stormont Castle in Belfast, Northern Ireland March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

BELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's largest Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein on Monday said it wanted a referendum on splitting from the United Kingdom "as soon as possible", hours after Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon demanded a new independence vote.

Sinn Fein has been regularly calling for a vote for Northern Ireland to leave the UK and unite with the Republic of Ireland since Britain voted to leave the European Union last June while most voters in Northern Ireland voted to remain.