Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell says any request for a referendum does have to meet the basic criteria. 

Mr Mundell says "any proposal must be legal, fair and decisive" and that "this proposal does not meet that criteria".

He repeats again that any Section 30 Order "will be declined".

The Scottish secretary says a referendum can only be legally held through legislation at Westminster.

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Scottish Secretary David Mundell says the reason the process is being rejected as there would not be the possibility of a fair choice in the timescale.

Mr Mundell says he hopes it will soon be confirmed that all EU nationals in Scotland can stay.

Scottish Conservative Leader Ruth Davidson says she voted for the last independence referendum because a fair process took place and there was a clear mandate for it.

Ms Davidson says that is not where Scotland is at the moment and it is "a divided country".

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Mr Mundell says the prime minister does not have a "crystal ball" for Brexit so timetables are not being set.

Have you just walked into a trap, asks the press corps?

Scottish Conservative Leader Ruth Davidson says "we are not setting arbitrary timetables" but that the "people of Scotland should not be subjected to another referendum" until they are clear on what the choices are.

How long will it take before the people of Scotland will see what a Brexit future looks like, Ms Davidson asks? 

She says that it remains to be seen and it is not clear what power will come back from Brussels. 

The power to call a referendum is reserved to Westminster. For the 2014 vote, David Cameron and Alex Salmond, the then-leaders of the UK and Scottish governments,  signed the Edinburgh Agreement  to give Holyrood the power to call the referendum.

Nicola Sturgeon - also a signatory of the Edinburgh Agreement, as deputy first minister - now wants to get a similar agreement from the current PM, Theresa May.

Her first step will be to ask MSPs for their backing over this. The Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems have all indicated they will vote against Ms Sturgeon's proposals, but crucially the Greens will back her.

If all voting MSPs turn up, that will give the first minister a majority of 69 to 59.

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Ms Davidson says she wishes Nicola Sturgeon had not made this proposition against the will of the Scottish people.

The Scottish Secretary says there must be an informed debate and it would have been disrespectful to allow next week's debate to go ahead without knowing the government position.

Mr Mundell says it was important the UK government set out its position ahead of the debate.

Secretary for State for Scotland David Mundell says "we do not believe the Brexit process would be concluded" by the time the Scottish government would call a referendum and therefore it is unfair.

Mr Mundell says a specific proposal has been brought forward asking the people of Scotland to make a decision about their constitutional future when they do not know the alternatives.

"That request will be declined," he says.  

When would an independence referendum be appropriate?

Ms Davidson says the best time was September 18, 2014 and you cannot hold a referendum when there is no public consent for it.

Mr Mundell says it is quite clear a fair choice cannot be offered to the Scottish people until the Brexit deal is clear.

Scottish Conservative Leader Ruth Davidson says "consent is simply not there".

"In Scotland we know referendums are divisive," she says. 

The Scottish Tory leader says if the SNP insists on pressing ahead the Scottish Conservatives will continue to argue that a referendum cannot take place before the people of Scotland know what the Brexit process is. 

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Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson says the first minister has chosen the wrong course and she says it is not too late to change course.

Ms Davidson says there are so many other issues that require attention.

The Scottish Conservative leader says an all consuming referendum campaign would show the first minister's pledges on education are worthless.

Ms Davidson says: "We reject conclusively the timetable for a referendum set out by the Scottish government, for a clear reason, because it is unfair to Scottish voters."

She says: "We would be voting blind."

Ms Davidson says there is no clarity from the SNP.

She says now is not the time to take Scotland back to the precipice. 

Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed she will ask for permission to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence.

Ms Sturgeon said she wanted a vote to be held between the autumn of 2018 and the spring of the following year.

That would coincide with the expected conclusion of the UK's Brexit negotiations.

The Scottish first minister said the move was needed to protect Scottish interests in the wake of the UK voting to leave the EU.

She will ask the Scottish Parliament next Tuesday to request a Section 30 order from Westminster.

Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell says the proposals brought forward by the Scottish government "are not fair".

Mr Mundell says any request from the Scottish government to hold an independence referendum will be declined at this time. 

Theresa May has said that "now is not the time" for a second referendum on Scottish independence.

But the prime minister did not say whether she was ruling out holding a referendum at some point in the future.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for a referendum to be held in the autumn of 2018 or the spring of the following year.

But Mrs May said it would be "unfair" to hold a vote until the UK's future relationship with the EU became clear.

Her Scottish Secretary, David Mundell, has tweeted that holding a referendum before Brexit would be "not fair and can't be agreed".

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the Scottish Conservative press conference.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson and the Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell will shortly give a statement in response to Prime Minister Theresa May saying  "now is not the time" for another independence referendum 

This follows First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's announcement on Monday that the Scottish government will seek a second independence referendum..