SCOTLAND will be taken out of Europe by Brexit even if there is a vote for independence, David Mundell will tell MSPs tomorrow.

Attacking one of the main arguments for holding a second referendum before Brexit in 2019, the Scottish Secretary will say continuity EU membership is impossible.

Earlier this month, former First Minister Alex Salmond said there could be a referendum in 2018 to ensure “continuing uninterrupted membership of the European Economic Area”.

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However in his opening statement to Holyrood’s European committee about Brexit, Mr Mundell will say: “I think it is important to be clear because there has been a lot of public debate on this point - that Scotland will not be in the EU at the end of this process.

“There is no set of circumstances in which Scotland could remain a member of the EU after the rest of the UK has left.

“If Scotland's constitutional position were ever to change, it would have to apply to be a member of the EU afresh - and we should not make easy assumptions about the length of time this would take, the process Scotland would have to follow or the terms of membership that may be on offer.”

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It implies an independent Scotland would have to apply for EU membership as a new state and sign up to all its rules, rather than inherit the UK’s opt-out on the euro and its rebate.

It also raised the likelihood of a referendum, as the SNP manifesto mentioned one if Scotland was unwillingly dragged out the EU.

The Herald revealed yesterday that two leading academics had said an independent Scotland could be fast-tracked into the EU, potentially by 2023, after a vote in 2018 or 2019.

However Kirsty Hughes, of Friends of Europe, and Tobias Lock, of Edinburgh University, also said Scotland would leave the EU at Brexit and then have to reapply for membership.

Writing in The Herald today, Scottish Tory MEP Ian Duncan said the pair had relied on a series of generous assumptions about EU reactions.

Ukip MEP David Coburn said it would be “catastrophic” if Scotland had to accept the euro.

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He said: “This would present insurmountable difficulties as Scotland’s national debt is approximately £15bn thanks to the SNP, which is higher than that of Greece.

“Scotland would have to suffer a greater austerity than Greece. Mad Sturgeonomics.”