Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed plans for a "consultative referendum" on independence from the UK.

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, Ms Sturgeon said the Independence Referendum Bill will outline plans for a vote on October 19th 2023.

The question put to the voting public there will ask: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

Ms Sturgeon said she is "ready and willing" to negotiate with the Westminster government in London on the terms of holding the referendum.

But she added: "What I am not willing to do, what I will never do, is allow Scottish democracy to be a prisoner of Boris Johnson or any prime minister."

She said the vote must be "lawful" and that this is non-negotiable.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon poses for photographers outside her official residence of Bute House in Edinburgh, Scotland. Picture by: Scott Heppell/AP/Press Association Images

The Scottish first minister said the devolved government had a "clear mandate" to go for another vote - after independence was rejected in a previous poll in 2014.

But she acknowledged potential legal challenges, and said papers were being filed to seek to establish the lawfulness of her plans.

The 2014 vote went ahead only after a so-called section 30 order permitting it was issued by Westminster.

On this, Ms Sturgeon added: "If it does transpire that there is no lawful way for this parliament to give the people of Scotland the choice of independence in a referendum, and if the UK government continues to deny a section 30 order, my party will fight the UK general election on this single question: should Scotland be an independent country?"

She claimed Scotland was being held back from fulfilling its potential by "Westminster governments we don't vote for imposing policies we we don't support".

Scottish voters chose to remain a part of the United Kingdom in the 2014 referendum by 55.3% to 44.7%.

But Ms Sturgeon has previously said the vote for Brexit, which saw Scotland vote in favour of remaining in the European Union, changed things.

Reporting by: IRN

Main image: Scottish independence supporters marching through the streets of Glasgow, Scotland in January 2020. Picture by: Kay Roxby / Alamy Stock Photo