Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed she will ask for permission to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence, the BBC reports.

Ms Sturgeon said she wanted a vote to be held between the autumn of 2018 and the spring of the following year.

She said she would ask the Scottish Parliament next week for permission to request a Section 30 order from Westminster.

The move would allow a fresh legally-binding referendum to be held, if consent is granted.

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.

Ms Sturgeon said the UK government had not “moved even an inch in pursuit of compromise and agreement” since the Brexit vote, which saw Scotland vote by 62% to 38% to remain the EU while the UK as a whole voted to leave.

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 Prime Minister Theresa May has said it will.