The Scottish National Party's Westminster leader Ian Blackford has blasted Labour's stance during Brexit stating that the party has become a facilitator of a Tory Brexit.
He said: "Jeremy Corbyn's confirmation that he will throw support behind Theresa May's disastrous Brexit deal is a severe blow to businesses, workers and people across the UK who are rightly concerned over the impact of Brexit.
READ MORE: Brexit: Theresa May's demand to renegotiate Withdrawal Agreement rejected by EU
"The attempt by the Labour leader to mask this as anything other than support for a Tory-driven, economy-wrecking Brexit deal is utterly disingenuous.
"Labour under Jeremy Corbyn has shifted from being the Official Opposition to the official facilitator for a Tory hard Brexit that will hit jobs and living standards across the UK."
Mr Blackford repeated calls for Theresa May to take the threat of a no-deal Brexit off the table and urged Labour "to work with the other opposition parties in holding this Tory government to account".
"It is clear that under every scenario Brexit will leave us all worse off - there is no such thing as a good Brexit," said Mr Blackford.
"If Jeremy Corbyn is intent on helping Theresa May drag Scotland off the Brexit cliff-edge, then it will demonstrate yet again that Scotland's national interests can only be protected with independence."
READ MORE: Brexit latest: Theresa May visit overshadowed by Donald Tusk
Scotland's Constitutional Relations Secretary Mike Russell has accused UK ministers of living in a "fantasy world" over EU withdrawal.
Following a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in London, Mr Russell said: "There needs to be a sense of reality in the UK Government.
"It is like a fantasy world in there. They do not realise the problems they are causing.
"What it is is an abdication of responsibility."
Referring to the JMC meeting, Mr Russell said: "I know no more now than I did when I went in there.
"There is no indication of what the Prime Minister is seeking to achieve in Brussels because she can't achieve what she says she is going to achieve.
"I think that we are in an incredibly grave situation with a group of people who, frankly, I wouldn't send for the messages."
He added: "The reality of the situation now is that we have to talk very seriously about a no deal because it doesn't seem the people who are charged with getting a deal to know what they are doing."
Mr Russell said Article 50 needs to be extended, stating: "Quite clearly what the Prime Minister should do now, instead of wasting her time talking about things which won't happen, is, first of all seek an extension to Article 50, which she can do, she's in Brussels.
"Then she has got to rule out a no deal."
Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake also hit back at the Labour party saying: "Jeremy Corbyn has turned his back on the millions of Labour members and voters who demand a better future than Tory Brexit Britain.
"He has chosen to forget that Labour conference voted for the party to campaign for a people's vote after failing to secure a general election.
"Brexit must not be agreed through a stitch-up between the two old parties. The public deserves a people's vote with the option to remain in the EU."
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