Nicola Sturgeon's bid to seek the legal authority to allow Holyrood to stage a second independence referendum will be voted on by MSPs next Wednesday.

The Scottish Parliament is due to spend two afternoons debating whether the First Minister should be given the authority to seek a Section 30 order from Westminster.

The issue is then likely to be decided in a vote on March 22 - with the timetable expected to be confirmed by MSPs in a vote on March 15.

While the Conservatives, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats have all vowed to oppose a second referendum, a majority of MSPs support Scotland leaving the UK.

Although Ms Sturgeon's SNP lost its overall majority in 2016, the election of six Scottish Green MSPs means 69 of the 129 politicians at Holyrood are in favour of independence.

The vote comes after Ms Sturgeon announced on Monday she intended to "seek the authority of the Scottish Parliament to agree with the UK Government the details of a section 30 order - the procedure that will enable the Scottish Parliament to legislate for an independence referendum''.

The SNP leader is also determined the terms of a second independence referendum be "made in Scotland", saying Holyrood must be allowed to decide the question that will be put to voters and the timing of the ballot.

ends Page 2: 14:59 Speaking at Holyrood, Scotland's Brexit minister Mike Russell said: "It will be for this parliament to request a section 30 order and then it will be for the UK Government to respond.

"If the parliament expressed that will, then I find it difficult to believe ... that in a democracy that will not be respected.

"The precedent of the referendum in 2014 is that it should be up to the Scottish Parliament to decide upon these matters and I think that is absolutely correct.

"If the Scottish Parliament seeks a section 30 order, then it would not be in any sense a democratic move to try and thwart that."

Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins said the First Minister had "jumped the gun by issuing uncalled-for and unilateral demands for a second independence referendum to break Britain up".

He said: "Why should the UK Government now take Scottish Government ministers into their trust at all about the UK Brexit negotiations?"

Mr Russell responded: "I don't feel ... I've been taken into the UK Government's confidence on any occasion but I'm quite happy to be taken into their confidence now if they choose to do so."

Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald said Mr Russell had promised to ensure discussions over the triggering of article 50, which will begin the formal process of leaving the European Union, would remain at the top of the agenda.

He said: "Does he not recognise that it is the First Minister who has taken all of those issues off the top of the agenda this week in order to launch her own campaign for Scotland to leave the UK even before the article 50 letter has been sent?

"Can he tell us what it was that was so pressing for Nicola Sturgeon that she needed to say what she said yesterday without having heard the response, which he says he has been pressing for for all these months?"

Mr Russell responded: "I have no idea when the article 50 letter will be lodged, I have no idea what is in it.

"Not to know when it is going to happen, not to have had any discussion of any sort about what is in it rather indicates there isn't a seriousness of purpose."