Nicola Sturgeon is under pressure to outline a “precise timescale” for a second independence referendum in the aftermath of the long-awaited Brexit deal.
The First Minister previously said she would detail plans for another vote “at the end of this period of negotiation with the EU” and when the terms of Brexit were clearer.
But she said the publication of a draft agreement with the EU had not brought this necessary clarity, adding: “I think it is reasonable to wait and allow this to play out over these next few weeks.”
Read more: Brexit deal backlash: Live updates as Theresa May rocked by Cabinet resignations
Theresa May’s draft Brexit deal was finally published on Wednesday evening, sparking a mounting Tory rebellion that threatens to topple her Government.
Speaking during First Minister's Questions, Ms Sturgeon launched a scathing attack on the Scottish Tories, and insisted the Brexit deal was already "dead in the water".
She piled pressure on Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson and Scottish Secretary David Mundell, who previously suggested they would resign if Northern Ireland was treated differently to the rest of the UK.
They feared "backstop" plans to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland would undermine the Union and boost the SNP’s drive for independence.
But despite Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey both citing such concerns in their letters of resignation, which were delivered on Thursday morning, Mr Mundell has backed the deal.
Ms Sturgeon said: “If the future of the deal and the future of the country depends on the 13 Scottish Conservative MPs, then we’re all doomed.
“What they have demonstrated is they don’t have backbone between them.”
Ms Sturgeon also condemned Mrs May for "sidelining" Scotland in her proposed Brexit deal, as she claimed the "shambles" it has created could force the Prime Minister out of Number 10.
She said she was "not confident that the Prime Minister will be in office by the end of today".
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie insisted the Scottish Tories were “as useless as a piano in a pigsty”.
But Jackson Carlaw, who is standing in for Ms Davidson as Scottish Tory leader while she is on maternity leave, demanded Ms Sturgeon rule out another vote on leaving the UK.
The First Minister was questioned over her plans for a second independence referendum by Scottish Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie.
He said Mrs May’s deal “satisfied almost nobody” and was unlikely to pass through Westminster.
He added: “But if the last two years have made anything clear, it’s that Scotland’s future is best secured as a full, independent EU member state.
“The First Minister stated in this chamber, in summer last year, that at the end of the period of negotiation with the EU, when the terms of Brexit will be clearer, we will come back to Parliament to set out our judgement on the best way forward at that time, including our view on the precise timescale for offering the people a choice over the country’s future.
“Now Jackson Carlaw might not want to know the answer to that, but I want to know the answer to that, and I don’t think I’m alone in wanting to know the answer to that.
“Will the First Minister now confirm to us that Scotland will be given that choice – and when?”
Ms Sturgeon said she would outline the precise timescale of another vote “when we have clarity”.
She said: “Obviously we have now seen the terms of the deal – it remains to be seen whether that makes it to a vote in the House of Commons over the next couple of weeks.
“We’ll see how that whole sorry saga plays out and then I will undertake that commitment as I said I would.
“I have no doubt that Scotland will get an opportunity to choose again on the question of independence, and when it does I’m confident that Scotland will chose to be an independent country.”
She argued people “deserve a bit of clarity about what else might unfold over the next period”.
Speaking afterwards, a spokesman for the First Minister said: “Let’s wait and see how the whole fiasco plays out, and the First Minister will update when hopefully at some point the smoke clears and we have some semblance of understanding of what’s going to happen next.”
In a Holyrood statement later, Scottish Brexit Secretary Mike Russell said Scotland had the highest Remain vote of any of the UK's nations, but was facing being dragged out of the EU against its will.
He said the Scottish Parliament would be asked to vote on the deal before any vote in the House of Commons.
Mr Russell also said he should be in a position to update MSPs on the Scottish Government's no-deal Brexit preparations before Christmas.
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