Former First Minister Alex Salmond says he expected Nicola Sturgeon to hold a second independence referendum in two years.
In an interview ahead of the second anniversary of the original 2014 vote, the SNP MP told Russia Today UK's Going Underground programme that he believes Ms Sturgeon will hold a second referendum in 2018.
Mr Salmond, who took Scotland to the brink of independence in 2014, said the UK Government is unlikely to seek separate arrangements for Scotland to remain in the single market after Brexit.
Read more: Ruth Davidson overtakes Nicola Sturgeon in new opinion poll
Ms Sturgeon said that the option of a second referendum was 'on the table' following the shock Brexit vote in June.
Mr Salmond said: "I would expect Nicola Sturgeon to fulfil her mandate to keep Scotland within the single market place.
"I would expect her to give Theresa May the opportunity to embed Scotland within the negotiations to enable that to happen.
"I fully expect, my reading of the situation is, the UK will not be flexible or wise enough to do that, and therefore I expect there'll be a Scottish referendum in roughly two years' time."
Prior to the original referendum on September 18 2014, Mr Salmond said that the vote was a 'once in a generation' opportunity.
Read more: Ruth Davidson overtakes Nicola Sturgeon in new opinion poll
The SNP were urged earlier this week to abandon plans for a second referendum after a Kantar TNS poll revealed that support for independence remained static.
A YouGov survey earlier this month showed that 54 per cent of Scots oppose a second referendum, with 46 per cent in favour when don’t knows were omitted.
An SNP spokesman said: "We've still had no clues from the UK Government on what their meaningless mantra - 'Brexit means Brexit' - actually means in practice.
"Even the Tory frontbench at Westminster are at loggerheads with the Prime Minister over whether it includes keeping the UK within the single market.
"The reality is that an overwhelming 62% of those who voted in Scotland voted to remain - and that's why Nicola Sturgeon has indicated she will pursue all options to protect our place in Europe, including another referendum on independence if that is the best or only way to protect our interests."
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