NICOLA Sturgeon has said the UK government cannot be trusted to act in good faith over Brexit, and she will demand guarantees before agreeing to any deal with Westminster.
The First Minister said the Tories appeared ready to “ride roughshod” over the Good Friday Agreement safeguarding peace in Northern Ireland, and so could not be relied upon.
She was speaking after SNP Brexit minister Michael Russell suggested Ms Sturgeon might have to sit down with Theresa May to break a cross-border impasse on the issue.
Talks between the Scottish and UK governments about amending the EU (Withdrawal) Bill ended without agreement this morning.
However both sides said there had been “progress”, and there will be another meeting next week.
As drafted, Clause 11 of the Bill would see all powers being repatriated from the EU at Brexit return to Westminster, even 111 in devolved areas, such as agriculture and fishing.
After being accused of a “naked power grab”, the UK government has now offered a revised plan, with most powers devolved to Holyrood immediately and 25 going to Westminster pending agreement on UK-wide “common frameworks” to protect the UK’s internal market.
However the Scottish Government insists all 111 must be devolved, otherwise Westminster would have a de facto veto on Holyrood legislating in areas it ought to control.
Asked about the situation at FMQs, Mr Sturgeon acknowledged there had been movement, but not enough to overcome the Scottish Parliament’s unanimous rejection of Clause 11.
She likened the situation to the recent row over the 20-year-old Good Friday Agreement, which makes a hard Brexit more difficult, and is now under attack from hardline Brexiters.
Last week, Labour MP Kate Hoey said the Agreement was “unsustainable” and former Tory Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson said it had “outlived its use”.
Irish politicians condemned the remarks as “reckless” and “irresponsible”.
Ms Sturgeon said that if the Tories were ready to play fast and loose with something as important as peace in Northern Ireland, they could not be trusted on Scottish devolution.
She told MSPs: "There must be further movement from the UK government if we are going to reach agreement - and I think we can reach agreement.
“I think we’re being asked by the UK government to take it on trust that they will not exercise these powers in a way that are unacceptable.
“I’m not casting aspersions on the good faith of any individual.
“But we shouldn’t forget this is a UK government right now that at times seems willing to ride roughshod over the Northern Irish Good Friday Agreement, and I don’t think we can simply take it on trust that the same government would always respect the devolution settlement.
“That’s why we must have guarantees that this parliament, the powers of this parliament and the devolution settlement, must be protected, and no Scottish government worth their salt would accept anything less.”
After the talks in London, Mr Russell said: “With regard to the EU Withdrawal Bill, the absolutely fundamental point is that the devolution settlement and the powers of the Scottish Parliament cannot be changed unilaterally by the UK Government.
“What happens to devolved powers must be a matter for Holyrood and the UK Government must recognise that.
“Progress is being made and we will continue to talk. I will continue to fight for the best deal for Scotland."
Cabinet Office minister David Lidington, who chaired the meeting, said the UK government had "demonstrated a willingness to listen and adapt our approach in order to find an agreed way forward, and we encourage others to do likewise so we can make good progress."
He said: “We had a constructive discussion. We have not yet secured an agreement but have agreed to meet again in the very near future to crack this.
'We want to find an agreed way forward that respects and strengthens the devolution settlements and which provides certainty for businesses and families as we depart the EU.”
Scottish Secretary David Mundell said the talks were "making progress" but "we are not there yet", adding: “We are demonstrating flexibility and we are addressing concerns that both the Scottish government and the Scottish Parliament have raised.”
The two sides have until late March to reach a deal, as the Brexit Bill must be amended before it passes through the House of Lords.
If the Bill became law without being amended to Holyrood’s satisfaction, it could create a constitutional crisis.
The Scottish Government has also threatened to bring forward its own emergency Continuity Bill as an alternative to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which would again create a crisis.
The discussions came ahead of Theresa May and her cabinet meeting at Chequers today in an attempt to thrash out a final Brexit plan.
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