The National:

THERESA May makes her fair share of alarming statements.

But the latest exchange at Prime Minister's Questions took Brexit chaos to a whole new level.

The SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford quite rightly called on Scottish MPs to back the party's amendment to rule out a no-deal Brexit "under any and all circumstances", instead of "betraying" Scottish voters.

Blackford said May is "blackmailing the country" with her no-deal threat that could cost 100,000 jobs in Scotland – and cause a recession worse than the 2008 financial crisis.

The Prime Minister said the only way to stop a no-deal Brexit is to back her deal and, bizarrely, thought it was relevant to criticise the SNP for supporting the workplace parking levy.

But Blackford had the perfect response, pointing out that there are actually alternative options to stopping the UK from crashing out of the EU without a deal: a People's Vote and extending Article 50.

Blackford added: "Prime Minister, look at the faces of her colleagues. She is fooling no one. Parliament will not be bullied into a false choice of accepting her very bad deal or no deal at all. MPs from Scotland must now decide.

"Will they stand up for Scotland or will they stand up with the extreme Brexiteers on the Tory benches? Today the Scottish National Party will move an amendment to rule out no-deal under any and all circumstances.

"Scottish MPs can back the SNP or betray voters in Scotland. Mr Speaker, will the Prime Minister finally end this Brexit madness and vote for the SNP amendment tonight?"

In her shocking response, May said: "The issue is very simple. Do we want to leave with a deal or without a deal? And that's the question that SNP MPs and every other MP will face when the time comes.

"But then he talks about betraying voters in Scotland. I'll tell him what's betrayed voters in Scotland. An SNP Scottish Government that has raised income tax so people in Scotland are paying more income tax than anywhere in the UK. An SNP Scottish Government that has broken its manifesto promise and raised the cap on annial council tax increases for homeowners and an SNP Scottish Government that means people are facing the prospect to an extra tax for parking their car at their workplace."