Live | Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon denies 'short-term pressures' for abrupt exit

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has thanked Sturgeon for her "long-standing service", while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer saluted the FM's "dedication and passion"

• The FM told a press conference at Bute House "in my head and in my heart" that this was the right time to step down
• Sturgeon is also stepping down as SNP leader but will remain in office until her successor is elected
• The FM wants the SNP to fight the next general election as a de facto referendum
• However there has been some opposition to the plan within the SNP
• In addition, recent months have seen controversies over gender reforms, which have been blocked by the UK government
• Sturgeon said her decision was not a reaction to short-term pressures, but came from "a deeper and longer-term assessment"
• Tributes have poured in from party colleagues and from across the political spectrum
• Speculation has begun about who will replace her as SNP leader and first minister.

Scottish MP and former leader of the SNP Ian Blackford said that he is “very saddened” by Nicola Sturgeon’s abrupt exit, saying “I’ve always had the opportunity of having a conversation with the first minister over the course of the last few days. And I have to say, I’m very saddened by the decision that she’s taken.

Nicola Sturgeon’s predecessor Alex Salmond has said that a new Scottish National Party leader could reunite the independence movement.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’ Salmond said, Well, what I see as an opportunity is to reset the independence movement."

He noted it depends “a great deal on who succeeds” Sturgeon, but added "If you get somebody who is looking to reunite the movement, perhaps through the vehicle of an independence convention, whereby you take a range of parties, and indeed cross-party movements, and bring it under the same tent, then that would be a highly significant move."

Setting out her reasons for her abrupt resignation, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon clarified that her decision was not a reaction to “short-term pressures”.

Admitting that there were “difficult issues” while confronting the government, she said that she has “plenty of experience to draw on” in “soldiering on when walking away would be the simpler option”.

This decision comes from a deeper and longer-term assessment. I know it might seem sudden but I have been wrestling with it, albeit with oscillating levels of intensity, for some weeks.

Essentially I’ve been trying to answer two questions. Is carrying on right for me? And, more importantly, is me carrying on right for the country, for my party and for the independence cause I have devoted my life to?

I understand why some will automatically answer ‘yes’ to that second question but, in truth, I have been having to work harder in recent times to convince myself that the answer to either of them when examined deeply is yes and I’ve reached the conclusion that it’s not.