Scottish judges have shown Boris Johnson who’s boss on Brexit

Scotland’s most senior judges are driving a coach and horses through this dastardly duo’s attempts to thwart and distract, to manipulate and monopolise parliamentary proceedings on Brexit. Every classic Dom sideways step and every Johnson sleight of hand has been bated back from the secure position of the rule of law. Just what I would expect from a nation famous for its no-nonsense approach. Thankfully, even the Act of Union recognised the importance of maintaining Scotland’s unique and prestigious legal system. Not just Scotland the Brave ... but Scotland the Astute.

This week’s triumph for the grown-ups has been the Scottish judges’ decision to thwart the soap opera of Johnson and Cummings’s letter-gate fiasco, complete with coffee-stained unsigned letters and photocopies sent to the EU. It was like some sort of upper-class dirty protest. Johnson and Cummings sought to circumnavigate the Benn Act through this schoolboy skullduggery, appearing to obey the law by sending the letter, minus the PM’s signature. But the Scottish courts weren’t buying it, neither would they be provoked into the Government’s silly drama. Instead, Lord Carloway said the case should continue until Johnson has complied, in full, with the law. Gotcha!

READ MORE: Scottish judges reject bid to throw out Boris Johnson Brexit case

In the midst of the chaos of British politics, it’s this kind of concise and straightforward reaction that we so desperately crave. Scotland’s judges are providing much-needed clarity and meaningful decision-making amidst the shenanigans and double-dealing of Johnson and co. All their little games and twists and turns on Brexit and their lacklustre deal are not just confusing for the electorate, but the aim is to also confound opposition MPs by keeping them on the back foot. Meanwhile, in the real world, we are no further on, deal or no deal, Remain or Leave. Just an endless Brexit Groundhog Day. Johnson and Cummings are banking on this grinding us down until we’re all so sick of it that we just want to get their brand of Brexit done, to hell with the consequences. And, unfortunately, in certain parts of the UK, they are very close to success. Witness Sky TV’s daft decision to launch a “Brexit-free” news channel. The editorial line is that the public can’t be bothered any more with this issue, despite its generational importance. Never mind the million on the streets of London last Saturday. Sky TV really, really knows what the people want to hear about.

So, it’s all the more important that someone takes a stand against UK Government games. The Scottish judges were not going to take the Prime Minister at his worthless word. This would seem a very sensible course of action given Johnson’s back catalogue of misdemeanours. Rather than accept the Government’s assurances that they would comply with the Benn Act, the court will continue to keep an eye on Johnson until he properly fulfills his instruction. They are watching his space.

This must be infuriating for Johnson and Cummings. They didn’t bank on the Scottish courts and our excellent legal system shining a light on their dark spaces, their Machiavellian plot-twists, highlighting what can and cannot be done within the clear parameters of the law. Like badly behaved toddlers, this pair desperately need some boundaries put in place. Scots law has provided this parental discipline and will supervise the PM until he gets the message.

It’s about trust, really, and no-one trusts this Government, especially the Scots, with few exceptions. Watching the puerile sight of the Scottish Tories walking out of the House of Commons last week when Joanna Cherry got up to speak revealed an uncomfortable truth about these unlucky 13, who have failed so miserably to stick up for their constituents’ democratic choice to remain in the EU. And this truth is that they will be forever beholden to their imperial masters at Westminster, even if it means selling their country and constituents down the river.

They can’t bear it that Joanna, a QC, SNP MP and a woman, has held a mirror up to their craven capitulation and held their leader to account in court. All they’ve got left is their petulance. Each and every one of these Scottish Tories knows this and yet they collude with their Government’s spin and lies. Their petty demonstrations are their admissions of guilt.

Tory lickspittles aside, Scotland has stood head and shoulders above Westminster throughout this whole Brexit process. No matter how much we’ve been ignored and maligned, we’ve fought to make our voice heard. But most importantly, in the midst of all the chaos and deliberate manipulation from Number 10, the Scottish Government is the only administration in the UK to have produced a comprehensive analysis of the economic damage of a soft, hard and No-Deal Brexit on Scotland. While the Prime Minister and his team of bandits have done their utmost to hide the truth of Brexit from MPs and the public to prevent informed decisions, Holyrood has provided empirical research and objective analysis in their white paper, Scotland’s Place In Europe. It didn’t suit the UK Government narrative on Brexit, ie it was hard facts, so they ignored this paper. But it’s there in black and white for all to read.

However, the PM cannot ignore the Scottish courts when they remind him that clear legal rules and procedures must be adhered to as the whole country wrestles with Brexit.

As mediators of the playground antics of this corrupt and manipulative UK Government, the Scottish legal system is providing a valuable public service, not just for Scotland but for the whole of the UK. It’s taken the canny Scots to remind Johnson that he does not stand above the law. There’s a beautiful poetic justice in that.