Nicola Sturgeon has branded the Scottish Secretary’s abstention on the no-deal Brexit vote at Westminster a “disgrace”.
At First Minister’s Questions, she criticised David Mundell for abstaining rather than voting to rule out no deal.
READ MORE: David Mundell forced to defend himself after defying Government on no-deal Brexit vote
Prime Minister Theresa May had promised a free vote on Wednesday but when MPs voted by 312 to 308 on an amendment to reject a no-deal Brexit under any circumstances, Conservative MPs were ordered to vote against it.
READ MORE: FMQs recap: Nicola Sturgeon faces questions amid Brexit fallout
Mr Mundell had previously expressed his opposition to no deal, but abstained from the vote.
The only Scottish Tory to vote to rule out no deal in the Commons was East Renfrewshire MP Paul Masterton, who then had to resign as a ministerial aide.
Ms Sturgeon said at Holyrood on Thursday: “I think it is to his credit that Paul Masterton did the right thing last night.
“The Secretary of State for Scotland can’t even manage to rebel properly.
“He pathetically opted for an abstention to save his own job rather than properly standing up for this country, and that I think is a disgrace.”
But a UK Government source hit back, saying: “The Secretary of State has no intention of resigning for the simple reason he fully supports the Prime Minister’s goal of leaving the EU with a deal that works for Scotland and the whole of the UK.
“Claims that he is somehow supporting a no-deal Brexit are ridiculous.
“It is the SNP – who are refusing to support any kind of deal – who want a chaotic no-deal Brexit in the hope it would increase support for independence.”
Following Wednesday night's votes, Mr Mundell took to Twitter to defend his decision to abstain in defiance of the Conservative three-line whip to vote against the Government's amended motion.
He said: “I’ve always opposed a no-deal Brexit. The House made its view clear by agreeing the Spelman amendment, I didn’t think it was right for me to oppose that.
“The PM has my full support in her objective of leaving the EU with a deal to deliver an orderly Brexit.”
The FM's attack on Mr Mundell came as she was responding to questions from Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard, who said: “Nicola Sturgeon and I agree that no deal would be a disaster.
“Two years of Theresa May claiming that no deal is better than a bad deal is nothing less than a lie.”
I’ve always opposed a no deal Brexit. The House made its view clear by agreeing the Spelman amendment, I didn’t think it was right for me to oppose that.The PM has my full support in her objective of leaving the EU with a Deal to deliver an orderly Brexit
— David Mundell (@DavidMundellDCT) March 13, 2019
Mr Leonard warned that no deal remains a risk unless MPs vote for an extension to Article 50, and he called for a change in law to ensure the UK does not leave the EU without a deal on March 29.
READ MORE: Paul Masterton resigns after voting down no-deal Brexit
He also said Mrs May must not bring her deal back for a third vote in the Commons, adding: “Last week in this Parliament (Holyrood), all parties voted to reject no deal in all circumstances – with the sole exception of the Tories.
“What does it say about the Tories in here that every single one of them without exception voted for something that neither the Secretary of State for Scotland nor Jackson Carlaw’s own MP could vote for last night?”
Ms Sturgeon asked Mr Leonard to use his influence with Jeremy Corbyn to get the Labour leader “firmly behind the option of a second EU referendum”.
She added: “Because if he would come off the fence, then I think that option would become not just the best one, but the most likely next step.”
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