Nicola Sturgeon has declined an invitation to appear before the Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster.

The First Minister said she was accountable to the Scottish Parliament and that she recently appeared before the Holyrood convenors committee.

She said in her reply to the committee: “ Unfortunately due to my responsibilities and range of commitments I will have to decline the invitation.

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As the committee is aware, I am accountable to the Scottish Parliament for the decisions and actions of the Scottish Government in relation to the issues you refer to.”

The committee chair Pete Wishart MP, said he hoped the First Minister would reconsider her decision and the invite remained open.

He said: “We first wrote to the First Minister in November inviting her to appear before our Committee, and we are surprised that her response did not arrive sooner.

“Our Committee is focussed on reports and inquiries that are relevant to the people of Scotland, and it would have been helpful to have explored the issues with the First Minister.

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“In this Parliament we have had inquiries and reports on universities, renewable energy and public sector broadcasting issues that cut across responsibilities of both Parliaments.

“The invitation remains open to the First Minister and we hope that some time in the future she may be in a position to reconsider her decision.”