SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford has branded the UK Government's expected review of Scottish devolution "nothing more than an act of sheer desperation".

Mr Blackford accused Theresa May of "running scared of the people of Scotland" and claiming "the real legacy of this Prime Minister is shutting down Scotland and ignoring the will of the Scottish Parliament".

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His comments were brushed aside by Mrs May who said the Scottish National Party wants to stop devolution.

Speaking during Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Blackford, the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber said: "This Prime Minister's days are numbered. Her review into devolution is nothing more than an act of sheer desperation.

"This is a Prime Minister running scared of the people of Scotland. Does the Prime Minister think the future of Scotland should be decided by the people who live and work there or by her party?"

Mrs May replied: "The future of Scotland was decided by the people who live and work there, it was decided in 2014 and they wanted to stay as part of the UK."

Mr Blackford said that if the Prime Minister "looked at the opinion poll she will see there is a majority for independence" as he turned his fire for a third week running on the Tory leadership contenders Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt.

He said: "Scotland's First Minister was explicitly clear when she said it is for the Scottish people, not a Tory party Prime Minister, to consider and decide what future we want for our parliament and our country.

"Can the Prime Minister tell us, will this review into devolution include the views of her would be successors that a Scot would never be Prime Minister and that Westminster should actively choke off Foreign Office support for a First Minister doing her job - doing her job Prime Minister.

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"This review is a farce, the real legacy of this Prime Minister is shutting down Scotland and ignoring the will of the Scottish Parliament. The Tories have never supported devolution and it's clear they never, never will."

Mrs May replied: "First of all there is no review into devolution, there is only one party in this House who wants to stop devolution in Scotland and that's the Scottish National Party."