Rishi Sunak and Nicola Sturgeon to hold talks in Scotland

The prime minister is expected to meet Scotland's first minister on Thursday evening, the BBC understands.

The talks between Rishi Sunak and Nicola Sturgeon will take place in Scotland.

Downing Street has not yet officially confirmed the details.

But the Telegraph newspaper has reported that Mr Sunak will use the visit to announce the locations of two new "green" freeports.

Mr Sunak had a telephone conversation with Ms Sturgeon shortly after becoming PM, with the two political leaders meeting at the British-Irish Council in Blackpool in November.

The first minister described that meeting as "cordial and constructive" despite the pair having "profound political disagreements".

The discussions included how best to tackle the cost of living crisis, the NHS and Ms Sturgeon's desire for a second Scottish independence referendum.

Mr Sunak tweeted at the time that it was "great to meet" Ms Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales, adding: "Teamwork, absolute focus and collective effort will be required to deal with the shared challenges faced by people across the UK".

His predecessor, Liz Truss, did not have any formal talks with Ms Sturgeon during her brief spell in Downing Street, although they briefly met at a service following the death of the Queen.

Ms Truss had previously described the first minister as an "attention seeker" who was best ignored, during a Tory leadership hustings.

But Mr Sunak has spoken of wanting to "reset" the often fractious relationship between the two governments.