The Scottish Government is trying to help the whole of the UK with its efforts to prevent a so-called hard Brexit, Holyrood's Constitution Secretary has said.
Derek Mackay was speaking after the Tories accused the SNP Government of using the UK vote to leave the European Union to push ahead with its plans for "independence at any cost".
A draft Bill that could pave the way for a second independence referendum has been published for consultation by the Scottish Government.
READ MORE: Scotland's Finance Secretary calls for 'real investment' amid 'turbulent times'
Mr Mackay said that legislation "is about the mechanics of the referendum should we conclude that independence is the best or only way to protect Scotland's interests".
In the EU referendum, 62% of Scots voters backed remaining in the bloc, but a majority across the UK opted to leave - prompting First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to warn that a second independence vote is "highly likely".
However Ms Sturgeon has said she will consider all options, with the First Minister wanting to protect Scotland's place in the single market as part of Brexit negotiations.
READ MORE: Scotland's Finance Secretary calls for 'real investment' amid 'turbulent times'
In addition, she wants the Scottish Government to gain responsibility for immigration and the ability to strike its own international deals.
Mr Mackay told MSPs at Holyrood: "Our starting point remains protecting Scotland's national interests, as set out by the First Minister.
"We're considering all possible options to ensure Scotland's continuing relationship with and place in Europe.
"Scotland delivered a strong, unequivocal vote to remain, and our focus is on ensuring Scotland's interests are protected, particularly as it appears the UK Government now favours a hard Brexit."
But Conservative MSP Oliver Mundell pointed out the draft Bill had been put forward before the SNP's "National Survey" on Scotland's future, which aims to canvass the views of two million people, has been completed.
READ MORE: Scotland's Finance Secretary calls for 'real investment' amid 'turbulent times'
The Tory, who is the son of Scottish Secretary David Mundell, said that by "pushing ahead with the Bill, as the Government plans to do as its number one priority... exposes the SNP's true colours and true intentions - independence at any cost".
He asked the Constitution Secretary why the SNP "are so keen to ignore the two million No voters who made their intentions crystal clear" in the 2014 independence referendum.
Mr Mundell also said the SNP are "keen to airbrush out of history" the one million Scots who voted to leave the EU in June.
READ MORE: Scotland's Finance Secretary calls for 'real investment' amid 'turbulent times'
But Mr Mackay said: "Every part of this nation, every local authority area, voted to remain within Europe, and that is what should be respected by the UK Government.
"Now the ball is in the court of the UK Government to respect Scotland and respect how the people voted, and if they do that then maybe we can find a solution that works for every part of the UK.
"Here's a Scottish Government that's not just standing up for Scotland, but actually trying to help the whole of the UK."
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