Nicola Sturgeon has said she would consider holding a second referendum on Scottish independence as early as next year.

The First Minister said a fresh vote could be held if the UK Government started the formal process of leaving the EU without Scotland's position being safeguarded.

She has also suggested Scotland could stay in the UK and remain in the EU.

David Davis - the UK Government minister responsible for Brexit - has said he does not think this would work.

However, in an earlier interview, Prime Minister Theresa May said she would listen to any options brought forward by the Scottish government.

Ms May also said she will not trigger Article 50 - the formal mechanism for leaving the EU that would begin two years of negotiations - until she believes "we have a UK approach and objectives".

During an appearance on the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland programme, Ms Sturgeon was asked about her position if article 50 was triggered in December and the Scottish government was not "on board".

In response she said that was why she was making preparations for a second independence referendum.

She added: "Of course at that point that would be an option and a decision that I would have to consider."

When asked if she would be happy to have an independence referendum in the first half of next year, she said: "I will have an indyref if I come to conclusion that is in the best interests of Scotland.

"I've always said that. It would be up to Scottish people ultimately to decide if that is right way to go."

She also said that if a referendum was going to be held it would make sense for it to happen before the UK left the EU.

In a separate interview on the BBC's Andrew Marr show, Ms Sturgeon was asked if the Prime Minister had given her a veto over Article 50.

In response the First Minister said: "That certainly appeared to be an interpretation that some put on the Prime Minister's remarks after the meeting and [...] I think that puts Scotland in a very, very strong position.

"That's a position I am going to use as well as I can."

Ms Sturgeon has set up a group to consider options for preserving Scotland's place in Europe.

She said it could be possible to find a solution where Scotland remains in both the EU and the UK - a move which Scottish Secretary David Mundell has described as fanciful.

Ms Sturgeon said: "We're in uncharted territory, and when you are in uncharted territory with effectively a blank sheet of paper in front of you, then you have the opportunity to try to think things that might have previously been unthinkable and shape the future.

"I think there are opportunities. The positive outcome of the meeting I had with the Prime Minister on Friday was that she said she was prepared to listen to options the Scottish Government would bring forward to give effect to how Scotland voted and we will certainly bring forward options."

Her comments contradict remarks by some EU leaders, including Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who said that if the UK leaves the European Union, Scotland must also leave.

But the First Minister, who met with key EU figures during a trip to Brussels after the referendum, said Europe's attitude to Scotland has changed since the 2014 independence referendum.

Asked if the EU may put aside its own rules and act politically to keep Scotland in, she said: "I do think that mood is there, and what I encountered in Brussels was a warmth, an openness, a great sympathy to the position that Scotland finds itself in. Things have changed fundamentally."