FORMER First Minister Henry McLeish said the clashes at Westminster over a Brexit "power grab" had revived the prospect of an early referendum on independence.

McLeish helped steer the Scotland Act, which created the Scottish Parliament, through the House of Commons when he was a minister in Tony Blair's government in the late 1990s.

However, McLeish said the devolution settlement was now "unravelling before our eyes".

McLeish, who was First Minister from 2000 to 2001, said it was a "tragic step back for Scotland".

He added that the measures opponents of the Tories have described as a "power grab" by Westminster from Scotland made a second referendum much more likely.

He said: "It's a gift to the SNP.

"There was little prospect of an independence referendum, but this may have brought the idea forward.

"To have devolution unravelling before our eyes is a tragic step back for Scotland and it may shift people's views."