AN SNP MP has launched an angry tirade against Boris Johnson and his government over their attempt to pass a controversial trade bill.

Drew Hendry said the Prime Minister and his Conservative MPs were "bordering on Pseudologia fantastica", a medical term for pathological lying, in their efforts to justify the Internal Markets bill.

The bill has caused controversy after Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis admitted that it would break international law if it passed.

This is because elements of the bill would overrule parts of the Withdrawal agreement the UK made with the EU last year around controls of goods flowing between the UK and Northern Ireland.

The Herald: SNP MP Drew Hendry

Speaking in the Commons this afternoon, Mr Hendry said: "This is a Cummings-directed Prime Minister and a complicit Tory government that have sought to justify a lawbreaking, democracy-reducing, shabbily produced, lazy and dangerous bill with a breathtaking factionalism bordering on Pseudologia fantastica."

The Scottish Government and SNP MPs have argued that the bill is simply an attempt by Westminster to snatch power from the devolved governments, by giving it more control over goods which can be sold across all nations of the UK.

They also argue that it could open the door to privatisation of public services, such as the NHS and water supplies. However the Tories have rejected their claims and argue that the Scottish Government will receive more powers once Brexit is complete with 70 powers transferring from the EU to Holyrood.

Alluding to the "power grab" argument in his speech, Mr Hendry added: " The Tories, let's face it, they've always hated devolution, but even by their standards this reaches a new level of contempt for Scottish Parliament, and for those of the other devolved nations."

He explained: This power grab view is not just the view of the SNP or those in Scotland. It is also organisations across Scotland that are deeply concerned."

He referenced the National Farmers' Union of Scotland (NFUS), the Gneeral Teaching Council for Scotland and the Scottish Trade Union Congress, claiming they have all suggested the bill could be damaging.

Mr Hendry explained: The STUC have warned, and I quote, 'Johnson is uniting political parties, trade unions and wider civil society in Scotland against a power grab which will see UK government interference previously devolved matters and a rolling back of the constitutional settlement we voted for in 1997."

The MP said the bill would impact "The water we drink, the food on our table, the buildings we construct, even our NHS. "

He said: "We know that chlorinated chicken will be bloating our tables as a result.

"Let's see what Donald Trump actually say, he said everything is on the table and that means products from the States including that, and hormone-injected beef."

Conservative MP Andrew Bowie took the MP to task over his reference to the National Farmers' Union Scotland, arguing: " I will bring him up on his using the NFUS and their argument as a reason not to back it.

"I will quote the National Farmers Union of Scotland, who have said 'The NFU Scotland fundamental priority in the clear interest of Scottish agriculture is to ensure the UK internal market actively operates as it does now.'

"That is what this bill delivers. Nothing of what [Mr Hendry] has said up to this point is in any way relevant to this bill today."

The Herald:

However the MP hit back, saying Mr Bowie's "selective quotation" was "absolutely underlining why the Tories have not won an election in Scotland since 1959."

He said you would "have to be about 90 to remember voting in an election that the Tories have won in Scotland, because they do not listen to the people of Scotland and they don't have their interests at heart."