Nicola Sturgeon resignation as it happened: Nicola Sturgeon resigns as first minister - RECAP

Nicola Sturgeon has announced her resignation and will stand down as First Minister of Scotland after eight years.

Ms Sturgeon will leave office as the longest serving and first female First Minister since the creation of the Scottish Parliament, a time which saw her lead the SNP to repeated election victories at UK, Scottish and local level.

In a shock announcement on Wednesday, the SNP leader said she believes the “time is now” to stand aside but denied reacting to “short-term pressures” after a series of political setbacks.

“Since my very first moments in the job I have believed a part of serving well would be to know almost instinctively when the time is right to make way for someone else,” she said from her residence at Bute House in Edinburgh.

“In my head and in my heart I know that time is now. That it’s right for me, for my party and my country.”

The succession and timeline of the resignation as well as the successor of the first minister has not yet been made clear, however we will bring you live updates throughout the day in our live blog.

The EIS teaching union has rejected the latest pay offer from the Scottish Government and council leaders.