She told the Scottish Parliament:

"I want to be clear to Parliament that whilst I believe that independence is the best option for Scotland, it is not my starting point in these discussions. My starting point is to protect our relationship with the EU.

However, I am in no doubt that there has been a very real and material change to Scotland’s circumstances brought about by last week's referendum result.

There is no doubt that we are in a new and different place this week from last.

During the independence referendum, we were told that staying in the UK meant we could benefit from having guaranteed access to the EU – that was a driving factor in many people’s votes. That is no longer true.

The country and the constitutional settlement the people of Scotland voted for in 2014 is no longer a reality.

Based on the very clear result in Scotland, if we were to be removed from the EU, it would be against the will of our people. That would be democratically unacceptable.

It is for that reason that I have said that everything must be on the table to protect our place in Europe - including a second independence referendum.

And to ensure that the option of holding a referendum within the timeframe of UK negotiations on leaving the EU is viable, we will prepare the legislation now.

However, let me clear about this - if the government does conclude that the best or only way to protect Scotland’s place in the EU is through a referendum on independence we will return to Parliament with that judgment and it will then, at that time, be for Parliament to decide.

I am emphatically not asking parliament to endorse that step today. A vote for this motion is not a vote for a referendum on independence."