NICOLA Sturgeon has insisted that there is no mandate for a hard Brexit and has made clear the Scottish Government must be involved in the UK's approach to EU negotiations in "a meaningful way".

The First Minister was speaking at the Institute of Directors' annual convention, where she stressed how some people voted for Britain to leave the EU because of disillusionment with austerity and globalisation and that this sense of alienation now had to be addressed by chancellor Philip Hammond in his Autumn Statement in November.

"I'm proud of the fact that Scotland voted strongly to remain in the EU but I can't ignore the fact that, even in Scotland, a million people voted to leave. They didn't think the EU benefited them, and see the advantages of free trade and free movement."

She told an audience of 2,000 business leaders in the Royal Albert Hall that there were "many, many causes" for people voting to Leave, such as doubts about the EU as an organisation.

"But in part, Brexit was a product of a sense of disenfranchisement and disillusionment. It was borne of inequality, of feelings of powerlessness, of austerity budgets which hurt public services and social safety nets that so many people rely on.

"One of the consequences of the referendum must be a new effort and I hope it's given real substance in the UK Government's autumn statement, to ensure the benefits of growth and globalisation are more fairly distributed."

After her speech she elaborated on the point and told STV that while many people blamed EU economic policy for that "sense of almost alienation" from the Brussels bloc, the responsibility lay with the Conservative government and its programme of austerity.

"It's time to make a change from that and that the chancellor's autumn statement signals a change in economic policy so that we can better tackle some of the deep-seated inequalities in society that fed for some people, not everybody, the vote three months ago," explained Ms Sturgeon.

Asked about Theresa May's contention this week that Brexit would enhance and not diminish Scotland's status, Ms Sturgeon said: "It's the polar opposite of what she and her colleagues said before the referendum. The Conservatives on the Remain side argued it would be economically disastrous; so it's difficult for people now to believe she has changed her mind on that."

Asked how much leverage Scotland would have in the talks with the UK Government, Ms Sturgeon stressed they were on-going.

"Those discussions are perhaps not progressing as quickly as I would like them to but they are progressing. So I would hope the detail of that will turn into reality;[reflecting] the welcome words the Prime Minister used when she visited Scotland after taking office."

The FM went on: "If there is a respect for democracy in this process, then surely the voice of Scotland, which voted so overwhelmingly to remain, must be heard and listened to. It would be unacceptable if that was not the case. I'm taking the Prime Minister at face value. We will go into this process in good faith, if we believe we are going to be involved in a meaningful way and that is the basis on which we will proceed."

At present, the key issue following the June 23 vote is whether or not the UK retains full membership of the single market and to what degree it has control of its borders.

Ms Sturgeon said: "We will argue in that process for options and outcomes that protect Scotland's interests but also we will argue the case for the UK as a whole to stay in the single market because while the vote across the UK - not in Scotland - was to leave the EU, there is not a clear mandate for a hard Brexit.

"Even Leave campaigners in the referendum often made the case that leaving the EU didn't mean leaving the single market. So staying in the single market with the benefits that brings will be the key issue that we will argue," she added.

It is expected that the first meeting of a Joint Ministerial Council on Brexit, involving the UK and Scottish Governments as well as those in Wales and Northern Ireland to agree on what Mrs May has described as a "UK approach" to preparing the ground for Article 50, will take place towards the end of October in London. It is also expected that the PM will chair the first session