NICOLA Sturgeon has said Holyrood should get a vote on the UK's trade deal with Australia. 

The First Minister said she was "deeply concerned" about the implcations of the deal on Scotland's farming sector. 

She suggested the UK Government is not standing up for the interests of Scottish producers.

It came after SNP MSP Jim Fairlie raised the issue during First Minister's Questions. 

He said the deal had been done with no consultation, no consent and no parliamentary scrutiny. 

He asked: "Does the First Minister agree that if the UK Government is so confident about the benefits of the deal, it should be put to a vote rather than selling out Scotland's farmers and crofters, just as they sold out the fishing communities?"

Ms Sturgeon said: "Yes, I do agree. I think the detail of this should be published in full. 

"It should be put to a vote, and I would suggest it should be put to a vote not just in the House of Commons but a vote in this parliament as well, so that we can represent the interests of the farming community across Scotland

"I am deeply concerned about the implications of this trade deal and future trade deals on our farming sector in Scotland."

Farmers and animal welfare campaigners are concerned the deal with Australia will lead to cheaper imports undercutting British meat which is produced to higher standards.

UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss previously said there is a 15-year transition period before Australia has quota-free access to the UK.

Yesterday, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said the Government's "disastrous" deal had "thrown Scottish farmers and crofters under their Brexit bus".

He pressed Boris Johnson to put the deal to a Commons vote, with the Prime Minister telling MPs: "The people of this country voted for this Government to get on and deliver free trade deals around the world and I believe they were totally right."

Mr Johnson also described it as a "great deal" for both UK and Scotland.

Under the terms of the deal, tariffs for beef and sheep meat will be eliminated after 10 years, with a duty-free quota of 35,000 tonnes of beef initially, rising to 110,000 tonnes at the end of that period, and 25,000 tonnes of sheep meat, rising to 75,000 tonnes.

In the subsequent five years there will be safeguard measures aimed at ensuring Australian meat does not flood the market.