Nicola Sturgeon poses in a brightly-coloured feather boa at charity event

Nicola Sturgeon was unrecognisable as she donned a pink feather boa, sunglasses and a cowboy hat as Scottish politicians lent their support to a cancer fundraiser.

The usually-stern First Minister took a break from the rigours of Brexit and Scottish independence to join her colleagues in a spot of fun at Holyrood in Edinburgh.

Willie Rennie, the Lib Dems leader, and Jackson Carlaw, interim leader of the Tory party, also donned vibrant outfits as part of Breast Cancer Now’s Wear It Pink event. 

Today will have come as a welcome spot of relief for Sturgeon, who has been locked in a war of words with Downing Street over the proroguing of Parliament.

Sturgeon accused No 10 of questioning the impartiality of Scottish judges who ruled Boris Johnson had suspended Parliament illegally yesterday afternoon.

It came after an Edinburgh court decided that prorogation was unlawful because the Prime Minister’s intention had been to ‘stymy’ scrutiny of his Brexit policy. 

A Downing Street source swiped that the Scottish courts had been ‘chosen for a reason’, with Sturgeon slamming the jibe as ‘pitiful’ and undermining the rule of law. 

During First Minister’s Questions today, Sturgeon has said the ‘horrors’ of a no-deal Brexit have been laid bare after the publication of the Yellowhammer document.

The paper, which provides an assessment of the potential impact of a no-deal, suggests that a ‘worst-case’ scenario could trigger medical shortages, food price rises and major cross-channel trade delays. 

MPs forced the UK Government to release the document before Parliament was prorogued on Tuesday.

Speaking during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Ms Sturgeon said that the Scottish Government viewed a version of the document which differed in title to one published on Wednesday evening.

‘I do think the publication of the Yellowhammer planning assumptions lays bare for the public the horrors of a no-deal Brexit,’ the First Minister said.

‘It is shocking that it has taken so long for that information to be published.

‘In terms of Yellowhammer planning assumptions, what we have seen in the Scottish Government is what was published last night.

‘The only difference I can confirm is in the title of the document – the version we had had the title Base Scenario, rather than Reasonable Worse Case Scenario, as appeared on the document that was published last night.

‘It’s for the UK Government to explain if there is any significance to that. We have been expecting an update of that document, which was dated August 2, we haven’t yet received an update of it.’