Theresa May offers Nicola Sturgeon face-to-face talks on Brexit

No date has been set for a meeting between the Prime Minister and the First Minister, but talks are expected to be held within the coming weeks.

It comes as both administrations try and break the deadlock over legislation to enact Brexit, which the Scottish Government claims is a 'power grab' over devolved responsibilities including agriculture and the environment.

The Scottish and Welsh governments have threatened to withhold legislative consent for the Repeal Bill, which will bring EU law into British statute, unless powers returning from Brussels in devolved areas are passed directly to Edinburgh and Cardiff, before talks take place on shared rules to ensure no trade barriers are erected within the UK.

Reports suggest a letter was sent from Number 10 to Bute House on Sunday, although a Scottish Government spokesman was quoted saying that only an "informal approach" had so far been made. The spokesman said the First Minister would be "more than happy to meet" Mrs May.

A Downing Street spokesman said talks would be held "in the near future".

In July, a Conservative minister quoted suggesting that Ms Sturgeon had been 'banned' from meeting the Prime Minister.

The source said: "She will no longer get the same access to the Prime Minister. She should be meeting David Mundell because he is at the same level as her."