FM Sturgeon to meet PM May within days, BBC understands
PM Theresa May to meet Scotland's FM Nicola Sturgeon on Friday
(about 3 hours later)
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is to have a face-to-face meeting with the new prime minister within days, the BBC understands.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will meet new Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday morning in Edinburgh.
Theresa May took over from David Cameron on Wednesday evening.
The pair are expected to discuss June's referendum in which the UK voted to leave the EU but Scotland did not.
Ms Sturgeon and Mrs May are expected to discuss last month's referendum in which the UK voted to leave the EU but Scotland did not.
The first minister said she hoped to have a "constructive" relationship with the PM.
The first minister said she hoped to have a "constructive" relationship with the PM.
Ms Sturgeon believes everything should be done to maintain Scotland's European role post the Brexit vote.
Ms Sturgeon believes everything should be done to maintain Scotland's European role post the Brexit vote.
She explained: "The Scottish government is pursuing every possible avenue to protect our place in Europe - which of course means protecting businesses' freedom to trade, the ability of workers to be protected and our right to continue to influence EU decisions."
Theresa May took over from David Cameron on Wednesday evening.
The SNP leader added: "We will continue to explore all options to protect Scotland's place in Europe - and I have made clear that the option of an independence referendum must be on the table if it becomes clear that that is the best or only way of preserving our EU status."
Earlier on Thursday, new UK Chancellor Philip Hammond dismissed the idea that Scotland could arrange a separate EU deal.
Speaking to BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, the Conservative MP said the best place for Scotland was within the UK economy outside the European Union.
He added: "Let's make this United Kingdom economy work for all of us and let's negotiate with the European Union from outside the European Union a relationship which works for Britain and works for Europe so that we can have as close a relationship in trade and commerce as we possibly can, while being outside the European Union as the British people determined we should be."
Neither Ms Sturgeon nor Mrs May have commented on whether they are due to meet soon.
At her first address outside 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, Mrs May said that the "union of the nations of the United Kingdom" was very important to her.
She added: "Not everybody knows this, but the full title of my party is the Conservative and Unionist Party and that word unionist is very important to me," she said.
"It means we believe in the union, the precious, precious bond between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
"But it means something else just as important, it means we believe in a union not just between the nations of the United Kingdom, but between all our citizens, everyone of us, whoever we are and wherever we're from."
