West Dunbartonshire’s MP has hit out at the UK government after a Tory Minister admitted a new Bill to amend the UK’s Brexit deal with the EU will break international law.
Local SNP MP Martin Docherty-Hughes slammed the Tory UK government’s ‘reckless’ Brexit plans which he says threaten the Good Friday Agreement and undermine the devolved powers of Scotland’s parliament.
Speaking in the House of Commons, local MP Docherty-Hughes questioned Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis after the Tory Minister conceded changes to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement would go against international law in a ‘very specific and limited way’.
The SNP has said it will not give consent to the UK government’s “Internal Market Bill” published today (Wednesday) over concerns it would hand Boris Johnson the power to overrule the democratic will of the Scottish Parliament in devolved areas.
Martin Docherty-Hughes MP said:
“It hasn’t taken long following the return of Westminster for the Tories to remind us they cannot be trusted to stand up for Scotland’s interests.
“It was quite astonishing to witness the UK government’s own Northern Ireland Secretary stand up in the Commons and callously admit they intend to disregard their treaty obligations under international law.
“By seeking to rip-up the EU Withdrawal Agreement through its so-called Internal Market Bill, the UK government is acting recklessly and at serious risk of jeopardising the Good Friday Agreement. And what they fail to understand is this will only serve to further erode trust in this Tory government and undermine its desperate attempts to secure a trade deal with the US.
“Given the UK Brexit Bill compels the devolved nations to accept whatever trade deals the UK government negotiates post-Brexit – no matter how bad they are – this could have serious consequences for Scotland’s economy, not least our world-class food and drinks industry.
“This is the biggest attack on devolution in decades, as the UK seeks to remove powers from Scotland’s parliament and put them into the hands of Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings.
“With the Tories once again threatening to impose a damaging no-deal Brexit against our will, it’s clearer than ever that Scotland would be better served as an independent – international law abiding – nation.”
