THE SNP has been accused by a UK Government minister of “fanaticism” and having a “relentless mission to stir up hatred, division and mistrust”.
Penny Mordaunt’s broadside came during an SNP-led Opposition Day debate in the Commons on the impact of Brexit on the UK.
But Alison Thewliss for the Nationalists hit back, insisting people in Scotland were able to “see through the lies and the spin” of the UK Government.
In hours of constitutional debate, Ms Mordaunt took aim at the SNP’s “relentless mission to stir up hatred, division and mistrust…The Scottish people deserve better than that,” she declared.
The Cabinet Office Minister described the “real political heroes of the last few turbulent years” were those who had been on the losing side in the Scottish and Brexit referendums but had accepted the democratic results.
“That faith in democracy, that respect for their fellow citizens, is the ultimate expression of mutuality, equality, in which we all share,” she insisted.
Ms Mordaunt added: “The SNP, through their fanaticism, and now, its emerging, conduct, are losing the fragments of credibility that they once may have held. Today we have seen again their contempt for democracy.”
But Ms Thewliss insisted Brexit had been a “wake-up call” for many people across Scotland, who could now “see through the lies and the spin of this Tory government”.
The Glasgow Central MP added: “We need policies which meet Scotland’s needs, not an insular little Britain driven by the whims of the Tories and their crony pals.”
Ian Murray for Labour said those like him who had campaigned for staying in the EU were disappointed and angry at Brexit but he warned a response “to rip Scotland out of the UK would add catastrophically to that position”.
Earlier during PMQs, Boris Johnson insisted Scots wanted a government at Holyrood which “weans itself off its addiction to constitutional change”.
But Ian Blackford, the Nationalist leader at Westminster, countered by arguing people in Scotland were best served by a government that prioritised “bairns, not bombs” – a reference to the UK Government’s defence review, which refers to raising the limit by 40 per cent on how many nuclear warheads can be stockpiled on the Clyde.
The Highland MP asked: “Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly when the Scottish people gave him the moral or democratic authority to impose these weapons of mass destruction on our soil in Scotland?”
Responding, Mr Johnson insisted Scots contributed enormously to the health, happiness, wellbeing and security of the entire country.
"I’m very proud this Government is investing record sums in defence, including maintaining our nuclear defence which is absolutely vital for our long-term security. And helping thereby to drive jobs not just in Scotland but across the whole of the UK.”
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