Alister Jack, the Secretary of State for Scotland has called the SNP a “campaigning organisation for independence, for separation of the UK, masquerading as a party of government”.
Speaking during Scotland Questions in the House of Commons, Jack defended the Internal Market Bill after it was branded “a blatant attack on devolution” by SNP MP Stephen Flynn.
READ MORE: PMQs: Blackford says Scotland should retain access to EU market like Northern Ireland
Flynn asked “Just three weeks ago, the Prime Minister said that devolution was Tony Blair’s biggest mistake, a bigger mistake than even the illegal Iraq war. So I ask the Secretary of State, does he disagree with the PM?”
Responding, Mr Jack said: “What the Prime Minister said was that devolution was a mistake when it was set up to be put in the hands of separatists, and I completely agree with that.
“The SNP is a campaigning organisation for independence, for separation of the UK, masquerading as a party of government.”
READ MORE: Watch: SNP MP David Linden 'waves goodbye to the union' during PMQs
SNP MP Hannah Bardell hit back at the comments saying: “The Secretary of State would do well to remember that the SNP is a democratically elected party of Government in Scotland.”
She referred to the latest trend in independence polls which shows an increase in support for independence saying: “Does the Secretary of State believe that his Government’s disastrous Internal Market Bill has contributed to this rise in support for the SNP and Scottish independence?”
An SNP spokesperson said: "The Tory government have continued to campaign to make Scotland worse off by dragging us out of the EU against our will.
"The SNP Scottish Government has and will continue to stand up for the best interests of all of Scotland, something that Boris Johnson's Scottish Tory puppets like Alister Jack could learn from."
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