THE current session of Holyrood will be the most important in Scotland’s “devolved history”, Nicola Sturgeon will say today, as she sets her sights on a new era with a referendum on independence.

Setting out her Government’s priorities for the next five years, the First Minister will tell parliament the election has given her a “clear mandate” for Indyref2 as part of an “unashamedly ambitious” agenda.

She will say tackling Covid remains her “immediate priority”, with plans to kickstart the economic recovery as well as tackling the infection directly.

Boris Johnson, who is due to speak to Ms Sturgeon at a four-nations Covid summit tomorrow, has already said now is not the time for Indyref2, and that the recovery must come first.

However Ms Sturgeon will argue that the pandemic has shown it is time to think big and be bold.

She is expected to say: “The last 15 months have been far too full of sadness and heartbreak - but they have also reminded us once again of people’s capacity for ingenuity, compassion and solidarity.

“The world has developed new vaccines from a standing start.

“Entire testing infrastructures have been put together from scratch.

“And we have seen people pull together, in order to protect each other, in ways that would normally have seemed unimaginable.

“There are very few changes now which seem unimaginable, or unachievable. That is why the plans I am setting out are unashamedly ambitious.

“We will make a decisive shift towards becoming a net zero nation [to tackle climate change]. We will implement a plan to transform our economy as we do so.

“We will tackle child poverty and promote equality of opportunity.

“We will invest in our public services and establish a new national care service.

“And so that people in Scotland - not Boris Johnson - get to decide Scotland’s future, we will hold a referendum on whether to become an independent country.

“In my view, this parliament will be the most important in our devolved history.”

“The programme I am setting out is rooted in today’s reality, but it also shows how we can shape a brighter tomorrow.”

Detailed legislative proposals are due to come forward in the autumn.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the recovery had to be the Government’s top priority.

He said: “We simply can’t allow our country to be dragged back to the old arguments and divisions.

“We need a relentless focus from the government on protecting lives and livelihoods and taking action to stave off the jobs crisis.

“Scottish Labour, under my leadership, is ready to work with anyone in the national interest where there is agreement, but we will not hesitate in exposing failures or holding the government to account. We can build a fairer Scotland and we can do that now by delivering a national recovery that works for all.”

A Scottish Tory spokesman added: “This Parliament must be relentlessly focused on our recovery, rather than Nicola Sturgeon’s constant push for indyref2.

“Another divisive referendum is the biggest threat to kickstarting our economic recovery.

“The Scottish Conservatives won more votes than ever before and stopped an SNP majority.

"We will spend the next five years promoting our positive alternative to the SNP for the people of Scotland and focus on their true priorities.

“We will continue to oppose any nationalist plans for indyref2, while ensuring we have a 100% focus on rebuilding Scotland.”

Meanwhile, Ms Sturgeon and Welsh FM Mark Drakeford last night wrote to the Prime Minister demanding greater clarity on Thursday’s Covid recovery summit.

“We want the meeting to be a meaningful discussion with substantive outcomes, and not just a PR exercise,” they told Mr Johnson, complaining they had only received a “very rough proposed agenda” and little sense of the outcomes being sought.