DAVID Mundell must deliver on his pledge to protect the Scottish Parliament's powers or "consider his position".
The SNP made the call as they accused the Scotland Secretary of making promises "he couldn't keep" over powers returning to Holyrood after Brexit.
READ MORE: Project Fear is back: 'The Tories think they can do anything to Scotland'
Speaking in the House of Commons earlier this week, Mundell said: "I have set out clearly that, in the process of leaving the EU, I want to ensure that the Scottish Parliament has more powers and responsibilities than it does today.
"I also want to ensure that we have an arrangement in place to allow us to agree frameworks as we move forward, and that frameworks, as I have previously said, should not be imposed."
It comes as the UK Government published the full details of its power grab on Scotland, setting out the policy areas currently handled by Holyrood that it wants control of post-Brexit.
READ MORE: Tory ministers tell Scotland what powers they want to grab
The UK's Brexit Bill would see all powers return to Westminster, with only some then passed on to devolved parliaments.
The dispute over which powers will return to Scotland has resulted in an imminent constitutional crisis, with the Scottish Government refusing to give its consent to the Tory Bill.
The SNP have now said that if the UK Government’s amendment does not give the Scottish Parliament the right to consent to any changes to its powers, then the Scottish Secretary must stick to his position, or step down.
The SNP’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford MP, also criticised David Mundell’s “deafening silence” on the UK government’s leaked Brexit papers showing the huge damage a no-deal exit could do to Scotland.
Blackford said: “David Mundell must either deliver on his pledge to fully protect the powers of the Scottish Parliament or consider his position. For Mundell to be right, the UK Government must agree to the Scottish Government's position on Brexit.
“The Scottish Secretary is supposed to be Scotland’s man in London but whenever the UK Government takes a major decision, he’s not invited to the table – and whenever the UK Government makes a decision that goes against Scotland’s interests, he goes into hiding rather than doing his job of challenging it.
“We saw it over the UK Government’s damning Brexit analysis, which David Mundell previously claimed didn’t exist, and when the UK Government failed to bring forward amendments to the Brexit Bill to protect Scottish devolution, despite all their promises.
“And we saw it again last week, when Mundell wasn’t even invited to Chequers where the Tory Cabinet were busy deciding their Brexit plan for the UK – leaving Scotland with no voice at the table.
"Mundell's latest blunder shows he can't be trusted when it comes to getting the best deal for Scotland when the UK leaves the EU.
“As the Scottish Tories are increasingly sidelined, they are letting us all down by failing to lift a finger to protect our national interests. Once again it falls to the SNP to stand up for Scotland."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel