A LABOUR MSP has added her voice to calls for Holyrood to obtain immigration powers as part of 'hard Brexit' exemptions, amid fears over whether EU citizens will be able to remain in the UK.

Glasgow MSP Pauline McNeill said that despite the powers being reserved to Westminster there was "no reason why Scotland’s Government or indeed other nations and regions should not have a say in immigration policy".

She suggested it would be unreasonable for Scotland to have no influence over immigration rules, as uncertainty continues about whether people from EU member states will be forced to leave Scottish communities they have lived in for years after Brexit.

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Her remarks came after Scottish Labour deputy leader Alex Rowley echoed senior SNP MSPs in demanding immigration powers are handed over to Holyrood.

Speaking at a meeting in Dunfermline, he called for a “new constitutional settlement fit for the 21st century”, which involves a Home Rule solution through further devolution to Scotland.

Prime Minister Theresa May is reportedly exploring ways of retaining free access to the single market for London’s financial centre, while the UK as a whole looks set to sacrifice full membership of the tariff-free zone.

However, SNP politicians and now Labour figures have said it would be unacceptable if the Prime Minister did not look at a special deal for Scotland when she is doing so for the City.

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McNeill called for clarity from the UK Government’s Brexit department about reports that London could be given a ‘protected status’ after Brexit, with the Labour MSP saying it would not be tenable to give the UK capital such status if Scotland was denied it.

She said: "For Scotland to be properly served after Britain exits the European Union the question of what say it will have in future immigration policy has to be addressed.

"There is no reason why Scotland’s Government or indeed other nations and regions should not have a say in immigration policy when the UK is out of the EU. The different nations and regions of the UK have differing skills and demographic needs which will require individual solutions to compensate for the loss of freedom of movement.

"A different Britain has to emerge as it leaves the EU. It could devolve more powers and give nations and regions within it a bigger say on reserved matters. It is essential that Scotland gets a full say in the direction we might be heading."

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McNeill added: "If the speculation recently reported in the media, that a preferential arrangement is being considered for the City of London (to protect the financial sector) it would be un acceptable if a similar protection was not negotiated for Scotland. The deal, whatever it is in the end, must serve Scotland and other parts of the UK such as Northern Ireland equally well as the City of London."

Rowley, in his speech last week, said: “If it is right for the City of London to get a deal on access, then it is equally right for Scotland to state the case for tariff-free access to the single market, for Scotland to be in a position to agree immigration policy to meet the needs of our economy and for Scotland to set the condition that there will be no rowing back on employment rights which support wages and workplace justice.”

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However, the UK Government's Brexit exit secretary David Davis, speaking during a visit to Glasgow, ruled out allowing Holyrood to have a say over immigration, stating that it was a reserved issue.

Davis said: "It's hard to see how a separate immigration policy would work."

The Tory cabinet minister also denied that Scotland and other parts of the UK could have separate relationships with the EU after Brexit.