An independent Scotland would use the pound as its currency for an unspecified period and would seek to rejoin the EU straight away, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister launched her economic prospectus for an independent Scotland and said the country would move to a Scottish pound “as soon as practicable”.

The paper, the latest in a series on independence, states there would be set criteria for a phased approach towards a new currency.

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Sturgeon would not give a timescale when asked how soon or how long it could take to transition.

She said it would be “determined by a set of criteria”, adding there would be a “careful and phased approach to support a new currency”. In the meantime, the First Minister said, after independence Scotland would use Sterling.

She said an independent Scotland would pay people’s pensions.

The First Minister said: “The Scottish Government will be responsible for paying the pensions of those with pensions in an independent Scotland.”

She added there would be negotiations about the “accumulation of assets and debts”.

The SNP leader drew a comparison between the pension argument in 2014 and the current economic situation.

She said: “It’s not because Scotland is independent that pension funds have been brought to the brink of collapse.”

The paper set out the ambition of an independent Scotland applying to join the EU.

Sturgeon said: “Independence opens the door to Scotland rejoining the EU and the single market.”

She said there would be a border check for goods with checks on the two main road arteries between Scotland and England, with the rest of the UK outside the EU.

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Sturgeon added: “We are being candid about the implications of being in the EU and the rest of the UK outside.

“If we want to be back in the EU we have to accept these challenges.

“We will have to have arrangements in place for the transfer of goods.”

She said technology would be used.

On joining the EU without having a separate currency, the First Minister said: “There is nothing to stop Scotland applying to rejoin the EU before establishing our own currency.”

Sturgeon said the UK is on the wrong path and its economy in decline.

She said: "The UK economy is fundamentally on the wrong path and there is no real alternative on offer within the Westminster system.

“The establishment consensus on Brexit - despite the harm it is causing - illustrates that.

“For Scotland, not being independent means we are being dragged down the wrong path too: one people in Scotland did not vote for.”

Opponents said it was a recipe for mayhem.

Daniel Johnson, Scottish Labour finance spokesperson said: “While economic chaos reigns, the SNP is focused on plunging Scotland into even greater turmoil.

“Scotland using the currency of another state without a shared political system is a recipe for mayhem.

“Those with mortgages are right to be alarmed at this slapdash fiscal policy. The SNP’s plan for homeowners to pay off mortgages in a different currency is a disaster waiting to happen.”