CRUNCH talks on the so-called Brexit “power grab” will take place today as Theresa May’s deputy touches down in Scotland.
Cabinet Office minister David Lidington will hold bilateral discussions on the EU Withdrawal Bill with deputy first minister John Swinney.
It comes amid an ongoing row over clause 11 – a controversial section of the Brexit Bill that would see devolved EU powers transferred to Westminster instead of Holyrood.
Mr Lidington urged all parties to "work together to find a way forward", as SNP Brexit Minister Mike Russell warned the clause must be changed for any progress to be made.
READ MORE: Theresa May clinging onto power as she performs embarrassing U-turn on Brexit analysis
Mr Russell told MSPs: "On the EU Withdrawal Bill, we are becoming increasingly exasperated by the UK Government's approach.
"This is not a disagreement between the Scottish and UK governments. It is now agreed unanimously, with support across Parliament, that the Bill is incompatible with devolution and will allow Westminster to take control of devolved areas.
"The Scottish and Welsh governments' joint amendments to the Bill to protect devolution were rejected by UK ministers, who then failed to honour their commitment for amendments of their own. The UK Government must make changes to address these concerns."
Mr Russell revealed a continuity bill – allowing Scotland to bring EU competencies into its own law post-Brexit – had already been submitted to Holyrood’s Presiding Officer in the event that talks with Westminster stalled.
Scottish Secretary David Mundell, who will take part in the Scottish talks along with Mr Russell, said: "I look forward to meeting the Scottish Government later today.
“The return of powers from the EU will lead to a significant increase in the decision-making powers of Holyrood.
“We have made good progress in our discussions with the Scottish Government on common frameworks and will continue those discussions today.
“We want to agree an amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill which we can then bring forward in the Lords.”
READ MORE: Blow for Scottish Conservatives in new political poll
In addition to the Brexit meetings, which will be held in Edinburgh and Cardiff, Mr Lidington will co-host a meeting of the expert panel set up by Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns to advise on arrangements for leaving the EU.
He will also hold round table discussions with business leaders in both cities.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel