Leaving the European Union is already sending shockwaves through the economy. As an internationalist and pro-European I will do everything I can to find a way through this.

If this was simply to be a charade devised to build up grievance in Scotland to aid the campaign for independence, it would not have received our support. I will not be a pawn in a new campaign for independence.

However, I was given a guarantee from the First Minister that this was not the case and that she genuinely wanted this process to succeed. That is why we will lend our support to this process as it will need a cross-party effort to have the best chance of succeeding.