Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed she will ask for permission to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence.
Ms Sturgeon said she wanted a vote to be held between the autumn of 2018 and the spring of the following year.
The Scottish first minister said the move was needed to protect Scottish interests in the wake of the UK voting to leave the EU.
She said she would ask the Scottish Parliament next week to request a Section 30 order from Westminster.
The order would be needed to allow a fresh legally-binding referendum on independence to be held.
Prime Minister Theresa May has so far avoided saying whether or not she would grant permission.
Her official spokesman responded to Ms Sturgeon’s announcement by saying that the evidence “clearly showed a majority of people in Scotland do not want a second independence referendum”.
‘Worst possible time’
He added: “Only a little over two years ago people in Scotland voted decisively to remain part of our United Kingdom in a referendum which the Scottish government defined as a ‘once in a generation’ vote.
“Another referendum would be divisive and cause huge economic uncertainty at the worst possible time”.
But speaking at her official Bute House residence in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said the people of Scotland must be offered a choice between a “hard Brexit” and becoming an independent country.
The Scottish government has published proposals which it says would allow Scotland to remain a member of the European single market even if the rest of the UK leaves, which Mrs May has said it will.
The first minister said the UK government had not “moved even an inch in pursuit of compromise and agreement” since the Brexit referendum, which saw Scotland vote by 62% to 38% in favour of Remain while the UK as a whole voted to leave by 52% to 48%.
The EU Withdrawal Bill is widely expected to complete its final stages in the UK Parliament later on Monday, which would allow Mrs May to then trigger Article 50 – which formally starts the Brexit process – as early as Tuesday.
Ms Sturgeon said Scotland stood at a “hugely important crossroads”, and insisted she would continue to attempt to reach a compromise with the UK government.
But she added: “I will take the steps necessary now to make sure that Scotland will have a choice at the end of this process.
“A choice of whether to follow the UK to a hard Brexit, or to become an independent country able to secure a real partnership of equals with the rest of the UK and our own relationship with Europe.”
She continued: “The Scottish government’s mandate for offering this choice is beyond doubt.
“So next week I will seek the approval of the Scottish Parliament to open discussions with the UK government on the details of a Section 30 order – the procedure that will enable the Scottish Parliament to legislate for an independence referendum.”
Ms Sturgeon said it was “important that Scotland is able to exercise the right to choose our own future at a time when the options are clearer than they are now, but before it is too late to decide on our own path.”
She said that the detailed arrangements for a referendum – including its timing – should be for the Scottish Parliament to decide.
But she said it was important to be “frank about the challenges we face and clear about the opportunities independence will give us to secure our relationship with Europe, build a stronger and more sustainable economy and create a fairer society.”
