May and Sturgeon set for crunch Brexit talks

Prime Minister Theresa May says she is ready to hold talks with Nicola Sturgeon in an effort to break the impasse over Brexit.

The SNP administration has warned that it will reject the EU Withdrawal Bill at Holyrood amid claims that it amounts to a “power grab” on the devolved administrations. The Welsh government is taking a similar hardline stance.

But the Tory leader told BBC Scotland the UK government was already talking to the Scottish government “in a whole variety of ways” during the Brexit process.

Asked if she would be willing to sit down with Ms Sturgeon to sort out their differences, Mrs May responded: “I will be talking to Nicola Sturgeon, as I’ll be talking to [Welsh first minister] Carwyn Jones and I hope in due course obviously to a first minister and deputy first minister in Northern Ireland, about how we ensure that we get the best deal for the United Kingdom.

“That means yes, the best deal for Scotland, but that we ensure that the interests of people in Scotland are maintained by remaining part of the United Kingdom.”