Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Time has come to ‘make a stand’, declares Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon.
Nicola Sturgeon.

Nicola Sturgeon has issued a rallying cry to those opposed to the “extreme Brexit championed by the right-wing of the Tory party” to “make a stand”.

The first minister, who met the prime minister in Westminster last night, said there had to be recognition that a “workable alternative is urgently needed” if Theresa May’s deal is defeated in the Commons.

And she vowed to join with other parties to secure an extension to the Article 50 process to allow time to find a different solution.

But a Downing Street spokesman warned the SNP leader against “risking a no-deal Brexit or going back to square one of negotiations”.

Their meeting came ahead of five days of debate on the withdrawal agreement and political declaration which will culminate in a vote next week.

Speaking afterwards, Ms Sturgeon, who revealed the SNP plans to lay an amendment to the meaningful vote motion, said she told the prime minister there must not be a “false choice between her proposed deal and a no-deal outcome”.

She added: “Instead, there must be a recognition that – if the PM’s deal is defeated in the Commons as is widely expected – then a workable alternative is urgently needed.

“That means there should be an extension to the Article 50 process, and we will join with those from other parties in trying to secure such an extension.”

The first minister added: “With the UK Government’s own published figures now making clear that any kind of Brexit would make us all poorer, the time has come for all those who oppose the extreme Brexit championed by the right-wing of the Tory party to come together and make a stand.”

The Downing Street spokesman said Mrs May talked about the support she had received from fishermen, farmers and business leaders, including Sir Ian Wood.

He said they “back the deal as it gives them the clarity and certainty they need to protect jobs and living standards”.

He added: “The prime minister urged the first minister to listen to these voices in their support of the deal as opposed to risking a no-deal Brexit or going back to square one of negotiations.”