12:59

At cabinet this morning’s ministers discussed Scotland and the prime minister’s “plan for Britain”. Theresa May’s spokesman would not be drawn any further on her view of the timing of a second independence referendum, or Nicola Sturgeon’s claim to have more of a mandate than the prime minister.

He said the “plan for Britain” was not just about the vision for Brexit set out in May’s Lancaster House speech but a wide-ranging domestic agenda, including new legislation for the third session on education, health, policing, national security, new technology and infrastructure. The Downing Street spokesman said:

She said it was important to remember we have an ambitious programme for economic and social reform designed to deliver on the mission she set out on the steps of No 10: building a country for everyone, not just the privileged few. The PM said that as we look forward to negotiations we cannot lose sight of that mission. It is at the heart of the message the British people delivered at the referendum. They voted for signficant change to the way the country works and for whom it works forever. The PM said this is why she has developed a plan for Britain with two interim objectives - the right deal for Britain abroad and a better deal for working people at home, such as driving up skills and improving education.

The spokesman was pressed on whether this new agenda would depart from David Cameron election manifesto that gave him a mandate to govern in 2015. He said there was no retreat from that manifesto.