THERESA May is currently heading for a “blind Brexit”, with the UK set to fall off “the cliff edge next March without knowing what the landing place will be,” Nicola Sturgeon has warned.

The only way to stop this from happening, the SNP leader added, is for the Prime Minister to reveal her Brexit back-up plan.

The First Minister’s comments came ahead of her meeting with May in Edinburgh today.

The Tory leader and the SNP chief are signing off on a £1bn city deal for the capital and the south-east of Scotland, but the summit between the two, the first since March, will almost certainly be dominated by Brexit.

That last time they met was in Downing Street to discuss the “power grab” in the EU Withdrawal Bill. The UK Government rejected Edinburgh’s calls for compromise, ignored the Scottish Parliament’s unwillingness to grant consent, and the legislation has now become law. But the Tory leader won’t just face a frosty reception from the First Minister, as her visit to Edinburgh comes in the middle of festival season.

Bosses from the Fringe, the International Festival, and the Book Festival have all already expressed fears over the impact of leaving the EU.

EIF director Fergus Linehan told a newspaper he could not see how a “terrible mess” could be avoided in 2019 and revealed that he is having to prepare for a scaled-back event.

Fringe Society chief executive Shona McCarthy has expressed concerns international artists would go to festivals elsewhere.

However, May is expected to promise that Brexit could lead to a “brighter future for the whole UK”.

The Prime Minister, will say: “I am pleased to be in Edinburgh today for the city’s annual celebration of the arts and culture.

“From the Fringe to the Inter- national Festival, festivals dedicated to science, books and storytelling, the city is truly a cultural inspiration for the rest of the UK and the world.” She will add: “As we leave the EU, the UK Government is working in partnership with business, academia and the devolved administrations to create more good jobs and spread economic prosperity across the country.

“By making the most of our country’s assets and the talents of all of our people, we can build a brighter future for the whole UK.”

Sturgeon, however, said there were two key challenges the Prime Minister faces between now and October’s European Council talks.

The First Minister said May will need to “secure a withdrawal agreement that provides for an orderly transition.”

She added: “Without that, the UK faces the catastrophic prospect of crashing out of the EU without a deal. But she must also secure agreement on a detailed statement on the future relationship between the UK and the EU – because without that we will simply be moving from the prospect of a no-deal Brexit to the damage of what some of her own colleagues apparently now refer to as a blind Brexit.”

The Prime Minister, Sturgeon said, had “promised a detailed statement on the future relationship with the EU alongside the withdrawal agreement, so Parliament and the people would know where the UK is going”. That promise, she added, “must be kept.”

“With the Chequers proposals falling flat, even if a withdrawal agreement can be secured, there is a very real risk that we will end up with a blind Brexit that will see the UK step off the cliff edge next March without knowing what landing place will be.

“That would do as much harm to jobs, investment and the economy as a no-deal Brexit and would leave the country directionless through the transition period.”

“We cannot have no deal and we cannot have a blind Brexit.”