This week marks the fifth anniversary of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. A recent report by the Institute for Public Policy Research highlighted the slump in trade with the EU and said that trade policy had been “muddled” and “rudderless” since the 2016 vote on Brexit. Will the First Minister give his response to that report, and does he agree that Brexit has been an economic disaster for Scotland and that it would be in Scotland’s best interests to return to the EU as an independent nation?

I agree with Clare Adamson on both points: that Scotland would be best served by being an independent member of the EU, and that Brexit has been an economic disaster for Scotland as part of the United Kingdom. It is as a consequence of our membership of the United Kingdom that we have lost our EU membership.

The economic damage done is obvious. That is what is undermining living standards in this country. I accept and acknowledge that and have a solution to it, which is that we should repair our relationship with the European Union and ensure that our businesses and organisations can trade and that we can benefit from freedom of movement.

I assure Parliament that we are encouraging the United Kingdom Government to repair the damage that has been done to our economy and to our relationship with Europe. The living standards of our population depend on that, and it must be given greater priority than it has been given since the change of Government in July last year.