THE Commons Speaker has slapped down a Tory cabinet minister who suggested she did not have to answer an MP's question because he is Scottish.
In a letter seen by The Herald, Speaker John Bercow accuses Westminster Education Secretary Nicky Morgan of "political point- scoring" over the issue.
He adds that the comments by Ms Morgan, who is also the UK equalities minister, carry "no procedural weight whatever".
The letter will re-ignite the row over David Cameron's plans to restrict Scottish MPs voting rights.
Labour MPs were outraged when Ms Morgan suggested she did not have to answer questions from Scottish politicians.
Her comments led to accusation the Tories were treating Scots as "second class" MPs just weeks after the independence referendum. In his letter, Speaker Bercow also confirmed that all MPs were "equal in the eyes of the Chair".
Glasgow North West MP John Robertson, who wrote to the Speaker to ask for clarification on the rules, said: "I am glad to have received a response confirming that Scottish Members of Parliament have an equal standing with members from every other part of the UK, and can speak on any issue in the House.
For my part, I will continue to speak out on all issues that affect my constituents in Glasgow, even if not directly."
He added that he would not be deterred by Ms Morgan's "petty" behaviour.
The row erupted after Mr Robertson asked Ms Morgan about her government's policy to allow unqualified teachers to work in some English schools.
Ms Morgan replied that the issue did not affect constituents north of the Border, adding "but I'm very happy to answer your question".
Mr Cameron was accused of betrayal when he announced plans for "English votes for English laws" (Evel) within an hour of the referendum result.
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 hereComments are closed on this article