The UK Government has rejected a call from Scotland’s Constitution Secretary to pause Brexit negotiations.
Mike Russell wrote to Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, requesting a halt to the withdrawal process during the coronavirus pandemic.
But the UK Government said it had “no intention of changing” the December 31 date for ending the transition period.
READ MORE: Dominic Raab to lead Government as PM battles coronavirus in intensive care
Mr Russell has now written again to Mr Gove to restate the Scottish Government’s case.
Mr Russell said there will be “dismay across Scotland” and much of the UK at the Government’s “intention to plough on with their plans for a hard Brexit, or indeed a no-deal Brexit, in less than nine months’ time”.
He questioned how the UK Government can be focused on tackling coronavirus while also pursuing Brexit negotiations and said there had been “no meaningful discussion of issues with the devolved governments for almost two months”, with none likely in the foreseeable future due to the pandemic.
He added: “But, bluntly, is the UK Government now expecting the Scottish Government to divert resources from tackling Covid-19 to carry out the necessary, extensive work that would be involved?
“There is still time to change course – and the UK Government should confirm without delay that they will seek the year’s extension that is on offer from June. That would ensure that every effort is put to tackling the pandemic emergency.
A UK Government spokeswoman said: “Our top priority as a Government is to slow the spread of the coronavirus, protect the NHS and keep people safe – we are working around the clock to do so, with all four nations together providing unprecedented financial support for businesses, workers and the self-employed.
READ MORE: Andy Maciver: Nicola Sturgeon was right to try to keep Catherine Calderwood
“We remain fully committed to the negotiations. The UK and EU have shared draft legal texts and discussions with the Commission are continuing.
“The transition period ends on 31 December 2020, as enshrined in UK law, which the Prime Minister has made clear he has no intention of changing.”
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