Nicola Sturgeon has drawn attention to a proposal which could see England and Wales withdraw from the European Union while Scotland retains its membership.

Denmark-based academic Ulrik Pram Gad has suggested the UK could seek inspiration from Greenland, which withdrew from the European Economic Community in 1985 while the rest of the Kingdom of Denmark remained.

England and Wales could do a "reverse Greenland" by seeking a territorial exemption from the continuing UK member state, allowing Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar to retain their EU membership, Mr Gad said in an article for the London School of Economics.

Citing the contrasting referendum results north and south of the border, Ms Sturgeon has vowed to do everything in her power to maintain Scotland's place in the EU.

The First Minister took to Twitter to highlight the Mr Gad's proposal as a potential solution that would guarantee Scotland's continued EU membership, despite the UK's vote to leave.

Theresa May, on the other hand, described some of the suggestions to keep Scotland in the EU as "fanciful" in her first visit to Scotland as Prime Minister, and senior Cabinet ministers have said the whole of the UK will leave the EU.

In his article, Mr Gad spoke of how a 'reverse Greenland' arrangement would work: "The Brexit referendum results in England and Wales contrasted sharply with those in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Gibraltar.

"Taking these differences into account - and combining them with prospects of Scottish independence, renewed troubles in Northern Ireland, and potentially severe isolation in Gibraltar - the UK could refrain from activating Article 50.

"Instead, negotiations could aim at a territorial exemption of England and Wales from UK membership.

"The UK would still be a member state - voting rights reasonably reduced to match the population of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

"The question of who would represent this member state, on what mandate, and following what procedures of coordination would have to be solved within the UK.

"Possibly, the role of Scottish ministers and bureaucrats from Northern Ireland would have to be central.

"The 'reverse Greenland' arrangement sketched above might solve the issue for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar, but it would, of course, leave another problem on the table: namely the relationship England and Wales would have with the EU and the single market.

"Inspiration for this relationship would have to be found elsewhere as there is little guidance that can be offered by the Greenland case.

"But while the EU might appear to be a rigid legal community, the political processes that generate EU agreements are based chiefly on pragmatism.

"There is therefore scope to create unique arrangements and the formalities of the process will hardly act as an obstacle in achieving this.

"Greenland's experience illustrates that it can be necessary to play games with a state's formal sovereignty in order to uphold it.

"Copenhagen seems to have learned that lesson - now the question is whether London will too."