NICOLA Sturgeon has accused Theresa May of betraying the national interest by leaving a gaping hole in post-Brexit security arrangements.

Sturgeon savaged May as the Prime Minister used a landmark speech to warn EU leaders not to block a deal on security after Brexit.

May said she wanted a new treaty by next year to ensure military, intelligence and counter-terrorism cooperation after the UK leaves the EU.

However, Sturgeon said May had created uncertainty because of the "utter failure" by the Tories to set out a coherent post-Brexit vision.

The SNP has warned that the UK will lose cooperation on intelligence sharing, data exchanges and counter-terrorism activities with other EU nations, and said May has failed to deliver a plan to replicate those arrangements after Brexit.

In a speech to top European and US officials, May said she wants a new partnership on security of unprecedented "depth and breadth" after Brexit in 2019.

She warned the EU that public safety will suffer if they allow "political doctrine and ideology" to hamper post-Brexit security arrangements.

Speaking to the Munich Security Conference she said a deal would require "real political will".

May said "we must now move with urgency" to implement a treaty by the end of 2019, adding "let's be ambitious" about an agreement.

She told the conference that “the UK is just as committed to Europe’s security in the future as we have been in the past”.

The PM said she wanted a “deep and special partnership” with the EU to retain cooperation.

May’s speech came after the heads of the British, French and German intelligence agencies called for continued security co-operation after Brexit, in an unprecedented joint statement.

A statement released by Alex Younger of MI6, Bernard Emie of the French DGSE and Bruno Kahl of Germany's BND, read: “The three Service Heads are united in the view that modern threats require a modern response, any failure to do so would lead to even greater risk. To have effect, our efforts must be combined in partnership.”

Sturgeon said May's "weakness" had left the UK in limbo when it came to the country's future after Brexit.

Sturgeon said May had put the interests of the Tory party ahead of the nation by seeking to appease hard right Brexiteers.

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Herald, Sturgeon said: “It is astonishing that fully 20 months on from the EU referendum, the UK Government is still struggling to spell out its plans for Brexit.

"That is a reflection of the infighting within the Tory party and of the weakness of the Prime Minister’s position – but it is inexcusable that party interest is being put ahead of the country’s interests."

May's speech was part of a series of choreographed interventions from cabinet ministers aimed at setting out a vision for the UK after Brexit.

Last week, Boris Johnson called on Remain supporters to see the benefits of leaving the EU. In a speech in London, the foreign secretary said Brexit was not "a V-sign from the cliffs of Dover".

He said that UK citizens after Brexit should have the freedom to retire to Spain, work overseas, go on “cheapo flights to stag dos” just as easily as now.

However, Sturgeon said Johnson and May's interventions had left the UK in the dark about the Tories' plans for post-Brexit trade and security arrangements.

She also restated her claim that leaving the single market, would have devastating consequences for living standards, saying: “If this was the week when the Tories’ Brexit plans were supposed to become clear, they have utterly failed to deliver – Boris Johnson’s speech was long on rambling rhetoric but bereft of detail.

“The looming danger for Scotland is being dragged out of the single market against our will, with all the damage that will cause for jobs, investment and living standards.

"But there is still time to change course and stop the headlong rush over the cliff edge of an extreme Brexit – especially if Labour find some backbone and get behind cross-party efforts to stay in the single market and customs union.”

In her speech, May warned EU officials not to let “rigid institutional restrictions” get in the way of a wide-ranging post-Brexit security partnership. The Tory leader predicted that there will be “damaging real-world consequences” if none is agreed.

May said: “This cannot be a time when any of us allow competition between partners, rigid institutional restrictions or deep-seated ideology to inhibit our cooperation and jeopardise the security of our citizens.”

However, the Prime Minister ruled out a second EU referendum, saying there was no going back on the result of the June 2016 vote.

“We are leaving the EU and there is no question of a second referendum or going back and I think that’s important,” May said. “People in the UK feel very strongly that if we take a decision, then governments should turn not round and say: no, you got that wrong,” she added.

SNP Europe spokesman Stephen Gethins said May had failed to calm fears that Brexit will undermine security in the UK and EU.

The North East Fife MP also echoed Sturgeon's claim that May was "putting party before country".

Gethins said: "Theresa May’s speech does nothing to address the concerns about how leaving the EU will harm and undermine security both in the UK and in our closest partners across the EU.

"Yet again the Prime Minister is putting party before country, failing to tackle key policies out of fear of yet more Tory infighting. It is now almost two years since the referendum and the Prime Minister is only now addressing this critical issue – and even then she is not answering any questions about how the hard Brexiteers who are now running the show – are proposing to deal with these issues.

"The real threats to key elements of our security infrastructure such as vital intelligence swapping, data exchanges and counter terrorism activities need this kind of cooperation but failure to deal with the issue again is a consequence of the Tories obsession with an extreme Brexit.We are now closer than ever before to that extreme Brexit which will impact on each and everyone of us.

"However so far all we have had is Tory party squabbling and meaningless speeches.

"It is utterly shocking and a complete dereliction of duty that the UK government seem unable to answer even the most basic questions on what comes next.’’