Nicola Sturgeon is standing down as Scotland's First Minister after eight years.
She told a short-notice press conference at Bute House in Edinburgh at 11am today that "the time is now" for her to stand down.
Ms Sturgeon said she was not standing down as a reaction to recent short-term pressures, including the rows over gender recognition reform that led to a clash with the UK government. Instead she said the decision had been some time in the making and that her departure was "right for me, for my party and for the country".
