Brexit has become the “biggest unconcluded disaster of modern times” and will cost Scots £1600 each, according to an SNP MP.
Pete Wishart, the party's shadow Cabinet Office spokesman, told MPs this afternoon that the Prime Minister's "oven-ready deal was in fact a barely defrosted turkey.”
He was speaking during an urgent question on the progress of the talks, in which Penny Mordaunt, cabinet office minister faced questions from irate MPs on the last-minute push for a deal.
Mr Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire said: "We are where we were always going to be, I suppose. The 'easiest deal in history' has become the biggest unconcluded disaster of modern times.
"We still don't know if it is to be a low deal or a no deal. The chaos is due to commence in a few short weeks and we still don't know the scale of the carnage that each sector will have to endure."
He added: " What we do know is that even if its a low deal it will cost every Scot £1600 and Scotland's GDP will fall by 6.1 per cent.
"Scotland rejected this whole miserable project.
"So will the minister concede that these negotiations have been nothing other than a shambles?
Ms Mordaunt replied: "As someone who has worked with Mike Russell and other colleagues very hard on ensuring that their views and ideas are taken up by the negotiating team, I can assure him that the position has evolved to take on many aspects of what his colleagues have been asking for...
"So I hope that if we have good news in the coming days, he will give the UK government the entire credit."
Dr Philippa Whitford, SNP MP for Central Ayrshire, said any deal "at this eleventh hour" would be "very thin".
She said: "The minister has called on businesses to get ready, but the government's own IT systems aren't ready."
Earlier Ms Mordaunt said the talks were at a "critical moment" and added: "Teams are negotiating as we speak and the Prime Minister will call the commission president later this afternoon to discuss progress again.
“(Michael Gove) is also in Brussels today meeting the European Commission vice president in their capacity as co-chairs of the UK-EU Joint Committee under the Withdrawal Agreement.
“We are all working to get a deal, but the only deal that is possible is one that is compatible with our sovereignty and takes back control of our laws, trade and waters.
“While an agreement is preferable, we are prepared to leave on so-called Australian-style terms if we can’t find compromises.”
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