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Reuters (18 March 2017)

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon knuckled down on her plan to hold a referendum on independence from the UK on Saturday, saying Brexit negotiations are destined to fail if Prime Minister Theresa May showed the same attitude to European partners as she had to Scotland.

"The Prime Minister's attitude should worry all of us hoping that negotiations with Europe will not be a disaster because - and let me put this bluntly - if she shows the same condescension and inflexibility, the same tin ear, to other EU countries as she has to Scotland then the Brexit process will hit the rocks," Sturgeon told her Scottish National Party (SNP) conference.

Theresa May said earlier this week that "now is not the time" for Scotland to hold a referendum with Britain's exit from the EU in the offing.

"There will be an independence referendum," said Sturgeon, who is also leader of the devolved Scottish government.

(Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary, editing by Andy Bruce)