Nicola Sturgeon has refused to rule out trying for a third independence referendum within a short period if she lost her planned second vote.

The First Minister was challenged twice during a special edition of the BBC’s Question Time programme in Edinburgh to promise that the result of a second referendum would be respected for a minimum period, such as a generation or 25 years.

But, to groans form the audience, she argued it would not be right to tie the hands of the Scottish people by making such a pledge. Her answer raises fears she is pursuing a ‘neverendum’ strategy, demanding new independence votes until she gets the result she wants.

However, during a difficult half hour, she was repeatedly lambasted over her refusal to drop her plans for another referendum and warned she was losing the support of even some SNP supporters.

The beleaguered SNP leader was asked to explain the sharp decline in her approval ratings and warned her independence plans could lead to the “exceptionally scary” prospect of Scotland being outside both the UK and EU, with ‘Scexit’ – Scottish exit - from the UK more damaging than Brexit.

Ms Sturgeon also faced another barracking over the SNP’s record in government, with one audience member challenging her to make good her pledge to be judged on education by resigning.