Scotland must have decision-making role in Brexit, says Nicola Sturgeon

Scotland will not be "window dressing in a talking shop" when it comes to negotiating Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon has warned.

The First Minister insisted the Scottish Government should have a decision-making role as the UK prepares to leave the European Union, stating that it will use its influence to keep the country in the European single market.

Ms Sturgeon has previously suggested that she could bring forward a second independence referendum if Theresa May's administration opts out of the free trade zone.

And in a swipe at her opponents, who have called for her to take a repeat of the 2014 ballot off the table, she said giving up the option would be accepting that Scotland is "at the mercy of Westminster decisions no matter how damaging or destructive" they are.

Mrs May has refused to say whether she wants the UK to remain in the single market, telling MPs she will not reveal her Brexit negotiating hand "prematurely".

But Ms Sturgeon said a lack of clarity on the UK Government's position was causing frustration, with a "meaningless tautological soundbite" in place of real policy.

In a statement at Holyrood, she said the Scottish Government was "committed to pursuing all possible options" to protect Scotland's interests.

"Of course our ability to fully assess the different options will be constrained until we start to get some clarity about what the UK Government is seeking to achieve," she said.

"We continue to press for urgent clarification on how the UK Government will deliver on the Prime Minister's commitment to full involvement for Scotland."

She added: "Let me be crystal clear about this, and it is a point I have made directly to the UK Government, the Scottish Government will not be window dressing in a talking shop to allow the UK Government to simply tick a box.

"We expect to have, along with the other devolved nations, a role in decision-making, we expect our engagement to be meaningful."

Retaining single market membership would be the "least bad outcome" for the UK, Ms Sturgeon said.

"I accept that the Prime Minister has a mandate in England and Wales to leave the EU, but I do not accept that she has a mandate to take any part of the UK out of the single market," she added.

"I hope all parties in this chamber will back us as we make that case, and I hope also that we can make common cause with others across the UK."

On the prospect of another independence referendum, she added: "To give up the right to consider that option would be to accept that we are at the mercy of Westminster decisions, no matter how damaging or destructive they are to our economy, our society and our place in the world.

"That is not a position anyone with Scotland's best interests at heart should ever be prepared to accept."

Ms Sturgeon said she was concerned by the Prime Minister's statement that she would not give a running commentary on the negotiations.

"I accept that while and when negotiations are under way there are aspects of that that have to be done behind closed doors, but I do not think it is acceptable to have a cloud of secrecy hanging over the UK Government's negotiating position.

"I don't think it's acceptable to have a Prime Minister who is unable or unwilling to answer the simple question, should we remain in the single market or not?

"The UK Government, I suspect, right now is using phraseology like that to mask the fact that it doesn't yet have a clue what it is seeking to achieve, let alone what its chances of achieving that are."

Conservative MSP Jackson Carlaw described the First Minister's statement as being "belligerent and self-defeating".

He said: "Is she just, to paraphrase her own words earlier this afternoon and as her tone today suggest, destined to define herself as a window shopper in these negotiations?"

Ms Sturgeon responded: "The tone and the lack of any substance in that question really does expose just how little detail or substance there is in the Conservative position on this at all."

She added: "There's no detail from the UK Government on its Brexit negotiating strategy, there's no detail on the date of its Autumn Statement or what its fiscal position is likely to be after the Autumn Statement. In place of government policy at UK level right now ... all we have is meaningless soundbites.

"That's not good enough. It might have got the new Prime Minister through the summer, it ain't going to get her very much further."

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale suggested there had been a recent "shift" in Ms Sturgeon's approach, from a focus on retaining Scotland's EU membership to only seeking access to the single market.

Ms Sturgeon insisted there was no change in position, adding: "I've said all along that I will examine all options to protect Scotland's interests. There is no doubt that what I see as the best option is to retain our membership of the European Union and I will be working to seek to do that.

"But I'll also be working along the way to try to protect all the aspects of EU membership that we possibly can."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie questioned whether Ms Sturgeon's offer to form a "coalition" with like-minded UK government ministers who want to remain in the European single market was nothing but "flim-flam" after she failed to explicitly mention it in her statement.

Ms Sturgeon responded: "What we will do as part of examining all options is, as one of those options, we'll try to see if we can use our influence to get the UK into the least-worst position.

"In my view, that is staying in the single market and I think I explicitly said in my statement we'll seek to make common cause with people of like mind across the UK. That remains the position."

• Scottish News