THE UK stands “at the brink of a catastrophic no deal” Brexit because the Tory government is incapable of agreeing a workable plan, Michael Russell has said.
The Constitutional Relations Secretary told MSPs the SNP Government was now preparing for a chaotic Brexit as a result.
In a statement to Holyrood, Mr Russell said that MSPs would have a vote on Brexit if a deal was struck or No deal became inevitable, in order to make its view known.
Nicola Sturgeon said this week she saw a no-deal Brexit as the “most likely outcome” of the stalemated talks between the UK and EU.
The two sides have so far failed to reach agreement on a backstop to prevent the return of a hard border to Northern Ireland, an issue that also divides Theresa May’s cabinet.
Mr Russell said until now his working assumption had been that “negotiations of substance” were taking place, and the UK was working towards a plan.
However he said: “I am no longer confident that is the case.
“On the Withdrawal Agreement - which is supposed to be the easier part of the negotiations - it is now clear that UK Government ministers are incapable of reaching agreement, even within their own party, on the crucial issue of the Northern Ireland backstop.
“So with just weeks to go before an agreement needs to be signed, the UK Government does not have a coherent or unified position that it can put before the European Union.
“Put bluntly, the Government has no plan, and no plan to get a plan.
“We are therefore at the brink of a catastrophic No Deal outcome.”
He urged the UK Government to revise its negotiating position and ensure that the whole of the UK remains within the single market and the customs union.
He said: "The fact that they are talking of hiring boats, packing motorways with lorries and stockpiling medicines illustrates the vacuum in leadership in the UK, which is resulting in measures unprecedented in peacetime.
“If the UK Government put [our] option on the table then we will commit ourselves to support it. But without such a proposal we will reject every other option short of staying in the EU as all deliver a succession of unacceptable and damaging bad deals, or no deal at all."
Mr Russell said that if a withdrawal agreement and political declaration on future relations were agreed, Holyrood would have a vote on the package before Westminster, albeit a non-binding one.
“The Scottish Government will seek to ensure that this parliament can pass its own judgment on it. On this most crucial of matters, Scotland must be - and will be - heard.”
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said Mr Russell’s statement provided nothing new.
He said it "appears to be is another opportunity for yet more grandstanding and grievance from a minister who's become a minister in both".
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