Nicola Sturgeon slams Scottish Secretary after SNP defeat on no-deal

Nicola Sturgeon has slammed the “so-called” Scottish Secretary David Mundell after he and other Tories from north of the border helped vote down an SNP bid to rule out a no-deal Brexit.

Westminster leader Ian Blackford put forward an amendment in the House of Commons which would have ruled out the UK leaving the European Union without a deal in place in “any circumstances”.

This was defeated by 288 votes to 324 – with Mr Blackford afterwards accusing Scottish Conservative MPs of “betraying” the country.

Almost two thirds of Scots voted to stay in the EU in the 2016, with the SNP amongst those now calling for a second referendum to take place.

And with just over four weeks to go until the UK is due to leave, Ms Sturgeon hit out at Tory MPs over their stance.

The First Minister said: “It is scandalous that we are now just 29 days from a Brexit catastrophe being inflicted upon Scotland by the Tories.

“Last night all parties, including Scotland’s Tory MPs, had the opportunity to vote for Ian Blackford’s amendment and remove the risk of no-deal, not just at the end of March, but remove the risk of no-deal forever.

“It is absolutely disgraceful that the Scottish Tory MPs refused to do that.”

A recent report from the Scottish Government warned that if the UK was to quit the EU without a deal, the country could be tipped back into recession, with as many as 100,000 jobs in Scotland potentially at risk.

Ms Sturgeon said watching Mr Mundell “the so-called Secretary of State for Scotland, squirming in an interview last night, trying to explain why he didn’t vote for that (SNP) amendment was quite mind-boggling”.

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood, the SNP leader said: “The Tories are no longer standing up – they never were but they certainly are not now – for Scotland’s interests, and if that Brexit catastrophe hits then every single one of them will bear the responsibility.”