There is "not a rope in existence that is strong enough" to hold Scotland to the rest of the UK if the Government pursues a "cliff edge" Brexit, the SNP's Europe spokesman has warned.

Peter Grant argued no one had the right to usurp the democratic decisions of the people of Scotland.

The MP for Glenrothes hit out at "hardline Brexiteers" who he said were "determined to drag us over that cliff edge" adding he wanted Parliament to be allowed to "erect a safety barrier".

He added: "Not to stop those who want to get to the bottom of the cliff from reaching their destination but to make sure that anybody who gets there, gets there in once piece."

Speaking during a Commons debate on consideration of the Lords Message on the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, Mr Grant said: "Now let me just remind the Government once again, that if they seek to drag their people over the cliff edge, our people are not going to follow.

"They might well find, in fact they will find that there is not a rope in existence that is strong enough to hold Scotland to their country if their country seeks to take us over that cliff edge."

Mr Grant argued the only reason there was an EU referendum in the first place was "because it was going to bring the Tory party together, well that worked out well didn't it".

Referring to the "hardliners", he said: "They are seeking to create a situation where if as seems increasingly likely by the day a severely weakened Prime Minister, possibly in the last days of her Prime Ministership comes back from Brussels with a miserable deal that nobody can welcome they want to make sure the only option is to crash out of the European Union with no agreement on anything.

"The reason that some in this House are determined not to give Parliament a meaningful vote is because they are worried that an overwhelming majority of parliamentarians on all sides of the House might vote against the cliff edge scenario that they have already plotted out for us."