Scottish Parliament 'will not approve any Brexit bills'

The SNP is facing fresh accusations of using Brexit in a bid to bring independence closer after a senior minister claimed Holyrood would not give consent to any further Brexit legislation until the "broken" devolution system is fixed.

Mike Russell, Scotland's Brexit Minister, said the Scottish Government no longer trusted UK ministers following a breakdown in relations over the handling of the EU Withdrawal Bill.

He added that he "couldn't conceive of circumstances" where MSPs would vote to give approval for further legislation related to leaving the EU, such as trade, agriculture and fisheries.

MPs approved parts of the Bill related to devolution after less than 20 minutes of debate last week, despite the Scottish Parliament voting against granting formal consent for the legislation.

Under the Sewel Convention, Westminster does not normally legislate on devolved matters without Holyrood's approval.

Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, said the convention had been "ripped up", while Mr Russell told MSPs earlier this week that "urgent discussions" must now take place with Westminster over the issue.

He was speaking as Ms Sturgeon arrived in Guernsey for talks with David Lidington, the UK Cabinet Minister, who said governments should "co-operate on big issues".

He added that the UK Government was committed to a good working relationship with the devolved administrations and urged the Scottish Government to maintain its side of that relationship.

But speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Russell said: "We are absolutely clear that the way that devolution operates and the structures of devolution have failed, and they failed because the UK Government is refusing to operate them.

"For example, on the Sewel Convention, we need to have the interpretation of that written down in statute and made legally binding, because what we've presently got is a situation where the UK Government makes the rules and then breaks them themselves, and there are no sanctions."

He said that, while there was "practical work" to do to prepare for Brexit, "it is very difficult to do that work because, frankly, we don't trust the UK Government with it".

Mr Russell added that he "couldn't conceive of circumstances in which we brought legislative consent motions about Brexit issues to the chamber until we have resolved the issue of the Sewel Convention and the way the parliaments work together. We don't trust that system any longer.

"The ball is very much in their (the UK Government's) court; we have said there are things we cannot now do because they have broken the system. They need to look at that and they need to work constructively with us."

Adam Tomkins, the Scottish Conservative constitution, said that like everything the SNP does, the comments were a calculated tactic which it thinks will bring independence closer.

He added: "The nationalists don't care about making Brexit work for Scotland, or indeed the wellbeing of devolution. They simply want to break-up Britain, and this is the latest ploy in that process.

"If anyone is proving untrustworthy, it's the SNP government."