Nicola Sturgeon has admitted she "wouldn't rule out" submitting legislation for a second independence referendum in the Scottish parliament early next year.
The SNP leader appeared on the BBC Andrew Marr Show where she was asked about her plans on the constitution after Greens secured a majority for independence in the Holyrood chamber.
Throughout the course of the election campaign Sturgeon said her first priority would be to steer Scotland out of the devastating covid-19 pandemic.
Asked by Andrew Marr if the legislation for a referendum could be put before the Scottish Parliament early next year , the First Minster said she "wouldn't rule that out".
She added: "The people of Scotland re-elected me as First Minister with the first task of continuing to steer us through this pandemic, getting us into recovery.
"Then, of course, there is a question about what kind of recovery do we want? What kind of country are we rebuilding to?
"That brings into sharp focus where do decisions lie.
"I am not sure the kind of recovery Boris Johnson envisages is one that the majority of people in Scotland would support."
She insisted the SNP would "lay out frankly the challenges an independent Scotland would face" in advance of any referendum vote.
Speaking about a possible transition to independence, she stated: "I am not saying it would be challenge-free, but it is absolutely the right thing for Scotland because it puts control over our future and the kind of country we become into our own hands."
It came as UK Government minister Michael Gove said Sturgeon's party's failure to recapture the dizzy heights of 2011, when her now rival Alex Salmond won a healthy 69-seat majority in Edinburgh, indicated there was not a fervour among the public for another independence poll.
Gove instead urged the SNP leader to "concentrate on recovery" from the coronavirus pandemic, following the Prime Minister's invitation for her and other devolved leaders to contribute to economic revival plans.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told the Andrew Marr Show that "a majority of people who voted in the constituencies voted for parties that were opposed to a referendum" and Ms Sturgeon "didn't secure a majority as Alex Salmond did in 2011".
"That is a significant difference," Gove said.
"Alex Salmond, when he requested a referendum, every party in the Scottish Parliament agreed that it was appropriate to have a referendum given that he had secured a majority.
"It is not the case now - as we see - that the people of Scotland are agitating for a referendum."
