The UK's vote to leave the EU was "borne out of inequality" and "feelings of powerless", Nicola Sturgeon will tell business leaders later today (27 September). The First Minister of Scotland will reportedly urge the government to reverse its "austerity" agenda, when she addresses the Institute of Directors' (IoD) annual convention in London.

"I'm very proud of the fact that Scotland voted so strongly to remain in the European Union," Sturgeon will say, according to the Press Association.

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"But I can't ignore the fact that even in Scotland, a million people voted to leave.

"They did not think that the European Union benefited them – they did not see advantages from free trade and free movement."

The SNP leader will add: "Brexit was a product of a sense of disenfranchisement and disillusionment. It was borne of inequality, of feelings of powerlessness – of austerity budgets which hurt the public services and social safety nets that so many people depend on."

Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, ex-Conservative Chancellor Lord Lamont and the First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones are also expected to take part in the event at the Royal Albert Hall.

Theresa May travelled to Edinburgh to meet Sturgeon in the wake of her appointment as Conservative premier after the Brexit vote.

The Bute House summit was described as "positive" and May stressed she was "willing to listen to options" on Scotland's future relationship with the EU.

May has promised not to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the official mechanism to break with Brussels, this year. Her government is expected to make the move some time in 2017, followed by two years of negotiations and a Brexit around 2019.

EU chiefs, including European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, have stressed that the UK cannot have "single market a la carte" – access to the EU market and tougher immigration rules.