The First Minister has announced an extra £100m of spending on government infrastructure projects in an attempt to stimulate the Scottish economy.

The Scottish Government hopes the funds will offset any negative economic consequences of the UK's decision to leave the European Union.

After announcing the stimulus plan on Wednesday morning the First Minister's office confirmed the money will come from existing funds which was not spent in the last financial year.

Following the referendum result in June, some economic commentators have predicted the Scottish economy will grow at a slower pace or even enter a recession.

Scotland's economy was already growing at a slower rate than the rest of the UK before the European Union referendum, largely due to the fall in the price of crude oil and the knock-on effects it had on the country's North Sea industry.

At the launch of her stimulus plan, Sturgeon criticised the UK Government for not announcing a similar project.

Sturgeon said: "As I have made clear since the EU referendum, the Scottish Government will pursue all possible options to protect Scotland's relationship with the EU and ensure that our voice is heard.

"However, it is also important to act now to support and stimulate the economy.

"Scotland is and remains an attractive and stable place to do business, however, there is no doubt that the referendum outcome has created deep and widespread uncertainty, with the impact on jobs and investment already being felt.

"The UK Government has not yet taken any meaningful action to alleviate uncertainty or to boost confidence and there are very real concerns that the damage to the economy and to jobs will be severe and long lasting."

The Scottish Government already has an infrastructure project plan totalling some £6bn. This new funding will be directed towards NHS projects.

Sturgeon also announced a "post-referendum business network" to work alongside business organisations, trade unions and the UK Government's Scotland Office.

Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser, and the party's economy spokesperson, said the beast way to boost the Scottish economy would be the for the SNP to drop its "threat" of a second independence referendum.

Fraser said: "These modest measures are welcome insofar as they go.

"But if the SNP wants to ease the uncertainty surrounding Scotland's economy, it should unequivocally drop its threat of a second referendum.

"Far from seeking stability since the Brexit vote, Nicola Sturgeon has only exacerbated the uncertainty with her opportunistic talk of separation.

"This announcement is not a host of new projects - it is simply bringing forward works which were already planned."

The new spending plans revealed by the First Minister were described as "hogwash" by the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie.

He said: "Nicola Sturgeon is not planning to spend a single pound more on public services. She is cutting spending in one area to increase it elsewhere.

"This is not a post-Brexit stimulus, it's just post-holiday hogwash.

Sturgeon's spending plan was described as a "drop in the ocean" by Scottish Labour's economy spokesperson Jackie Baillie.

She said: ""It is welcome that the First Minister has agreed with Labour's calls to bring forward infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy, although the SNP could be much bolder with this investment.

"For context the SNP announced £100m today - the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow cost £850m and the Queensferry Crossing will cost over £1bn. Any investment is welcome but this feels like a drop in the ocean."

The Prime Minister has said she will not trigger the legal mechanism for leaving the EU, Article 50, until 2017.

The whole process is expected to take at least two years.