Scotland's first minister said she remained "determined" to have an independence referendum on her timescale despite Theresa May saying that "now is not the time".

Nicola Sturgeon told BBC Scotland it would be "anti-democratic" for the UK government to block a referendum.

And she said she would consider her options if the will of the Scottish Parliament "is not respected".

Mrs May said the focus should be on securing the best possible Brexit deal.

She added that it would not be fair for the people of Scotland to be asked to make a decision on independence before the terms of Brexit were clear.

MSPs are set to back First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's call for a second independence referendum in a Holyrood vote.

Members will vote after the resumption of a debate which was  cut short in the wake of a terror attack  at Westminster.

Ms Sturgeon's motion asks MSPs to back her in approaching the UK government for permission to hold a referendum.

Image source, Scottish Parilament

The Greens are expected to support the SNP in the final vote at 17:00, which should see the motion pass.

However, the UK government has indicated it will  reject calls for a new vote  in the immediate future, with Prime Minister Theresa May saying "now is not the time" to discuss a referendum.

If the vote passes, Scottish Brexit minister Mike Russell told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that a letter would be sent to the UK government which will "lay out how we intend to fulfil the mandate of the Scottish Parliament".

Read more here.

Image source, BBC/PA/Thinkstock

Nicola Sturgeon will resume the 'Scotland's Choice' debate which was suspended out of respect for the victims of the Westminster terror attack.

MSPs are expected to pass a vote in favour of seeking a new Scottish independence referendum.

The all important vote is at 5pm. 

That brings this evidence session to a close.

Committee Convener Margaret Mitchell moves the committee into private session.

Tory MSP Douglas Ross asks if the justice secretary believes that the deployment of officers with tasers will change in light of what happened in Westminster.

Mr Matheson says it is an ongoing issue which is constantly reviewed and the decisions to deploy officers with tasers to the Scottish Parliament has been taken in light of events at Westminster. 

The justice secretary says that decisions on the deployment of officers with tasers may change based on emerging intelligence on the Westminster terror attack. 

Tory MSP Douglas Ross questions the training costs and increase of burden on Police Scotland. 

Committee Convener Margaret Mitchell says that BTP say that no officer should be near a railway without a Personal Track Safety (PTS) certificate. 

Mr Matheson says that making sure staff have the training that is required is an operational matter for chief constables. 

Image source, PA

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson says he is confident that the risks can be appropriately managed by the approach being taken.

Mr Matheson says he believes integration will deliver a better service for passengers.

Tory MSP Douglas Ross asks if decisions are based on evidence and advice from senior officers.

Mr Matheson says the government do take this into account.

Mr Ross uses several quotes from senior officers which suggest that there will be no operational benefits from the merger and that there are significant risks.

Mr Matheson says "no one would dispute that there are risks" but it is about how those risks are managed.

SNP MSP Mairi Evans asks for clarity around the redundancy issue.

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf says the government have a policy of no compulsory redundancy and that the triple lock guarantee those officer's jobs.

Mr Yousaf says the triple lock guarantee protects the pensions and salary of staff.

Committee Convener Margaret Mitchell asks if there is any other powers that have been devolved that the government are delaying on until the time is appropriate.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson says not in relation to policing.

Ms Mitchell says that Mr Mundell's point was that other powers, such as Welfare, have been devolved but that the government are delaying this until the time is appropriate for changes. 

Mr Matheson says it is not a fair comparison and that things have to change because railways policing is being devolved. 

Tory MSP Oliver Mundell asks if BTP staff will have to move and where those is his constituency will be based.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson says that is an operational issue and will be a matter for the chief constable.

Mr Mundell asks if the justice secretary does not think his constituents deserve more clarity on this.

Mr Matheson says "we are getting into very dangerous ground if politicians are going to get involved" in where resources are deployed to.

The justice secretary says this is "ultimately a matter for chief constables".

Mr McArthur says there is continuing pressure on Police Scotland in terms of providing additional training in other areas because of changing legislation.

Justice Minister Michael Matheson says upskilling and training is nothing new to Police Scotland. 

Mr McArthur asks about a figure of 37.5% of staff who expected to leave the force to retirement and redundancy in a recent survey.  

Mr Matheson says he believes that figure related to staff not officers and all BTP officers will transfer to Police Scotland, there are no compulsory redundancies, he says. 

Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur asks what costs are expected to be for additional training.

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf says he cannot give a figure at the moment but ACC Higgins has been clear that this will be delivered under current budgets.

Image source, PA

Officers who police Scotland's railways used a Taser just weeks after first being armed with the stun weapons, BBC Scotland has learned.

A Freedom of Information request revealed that the incident happened at Edinburgh Waverley station in October.

British Transport Police officers trained a red dot target on a 34-year-old man, but the Taser was not fired.

It is the only time a Taser has been used since some BTP officers started carrying them in September.

At the time, senior officers within the force refused to reveal exactly how many would be trained in their use "for security reasons".

Read more here.

SNP MSP Rona Mackay says no other party put forward any alternatives during the consultation and it was a cross-party agreed part of the Smith Commission.

Ms Mackay asks about taser use going forward.

Mr Matheson says that is a matter for the chief constable.

He says officers who are trained in deploying tasers in Scotland are trained and qualified firearms officers.

The justice secretary says that this is not the same in England and Wales.