Scotland must decide if it wants to choose its own future or have it "dictated by an increasingly right-wing Westminster Government", the First Minister has said.

In a statement issued in response to the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling that the UK Government does not have to legally consult the Scottish Government before triggering Article 50, Nicola Sturgeon said the ruling "raises fundamental issues above and beyond that of EU membership".

Sturgeon said she will press ahead with plans to table a motion at Holyrood despite the court's ruling.

The UK Government lost its own appeal at the court, meaning MPs and peers must pass legislation to trigger the country's exit from the EU.

Last week, the First Minister said a second independence referendum is "even more likely" after the Prime Minister revealed she intends to take the whole of the UK out of the European single market as part of Brexit.

Sturgeon said: "We are obviously disappointed with the Supreme Court's ruling in respect of the devolved administrations and the legal enforceability of the Sewel convention.

"It is now crystal clear that the promises made to Scotland by the UK Government about the Sewel convention and the importance of embedding it in statute were not worth the paper they were written on."

She added: "Although the court has concluded that the UK Government is not legally obliged to consult the devolved administrations, there remains a clear political obligation to do so.

"Indeed, the court itself notes the importance of Sewel as a political convention.

"The Scottish Government will bring forward a legislative consent motion and ensure that the Scottish Parliament has the opportunity to vote on whether or not it consents to the triggering of Article 50."

The First Minister said the UK Government's stance raises questions about devolution.

She said: "We will also use the meeting of the joint ministerial committee next week to continue to press for the sensible, compromise outcomes set out in the paper we published in December.

"However, it is becoming clearer by the day that Scotland's voice is simply not being heard or listened to within the UK.

"The claims about Scotland being an equal partner are being exposed as nothing more than empty rhetoric and the very foundations of the devolution settlement that are supposed to protect our interests - such as the statutory embedding of the Sewel convention - are being shown to be worthless."

She added: "This raises fundamental issues above and beyond that of EU membership. Is Scotland content for our future to be dictated by an increasingly right-wing Westminster government with just one MP here - or is it better that we take our future into our own hands? It is becoming ever clearer that this is a choice that Scotland must make."

The Prime Minister vowed to protect the "precious union" between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom when outlining her Brexit plans.

Theresa May said: "We will put the preservation of our precious union at the heart of everything we do.

"It is only by coming together as one great union of nations and people that we can make the most of opportunities ahead."

May and Sturgeon will meet in Downing Street next week at the next meeting of the joint ministerial committee.