THE UK Government should "keep its hands off devolved powers", Scotland's Constitution Secretary has said amid a row over state aid regulations.
Mike Russell's comments come after the First Minister accused the UK Government of a "full-scale assault on devolution" over reports it will not allow Holyrood to control state aid after Brexit.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, Russell accused the UK Government of being involved in a regulatory "race to the bottom" to secure post-Brexit trade deals.
He said: "The best way to solve this is for Scotland to be an independent member of the EU.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon blasts Boris Johnson's all-out ‘assault on devolution’
"In the meantime, the best way to solve this is for the UK to get its hands off devolved powers and stop trying to undermine devolution."
Russell said he would like to see state aid rules closely aligned to those of the EU, adding that he would not want the regulations to be put in the hands of the UK, for fear of them being lowered.
He said: "If the current UK Government, which is determined on a race to the bottom, wishes to lower those standards, then I want to keep them high.
"I would like them to keep them high - and the best way to do that would be to give up the nonsense of Brexit.
"But if they're insisting on spending all this money utterly pointlessly to make us poorer... then my job is to defend the Scottish interest which says 'do not give these up, because that will lead to a very dangerous lowering of standards'."
A member of the Joint Ministerial Committee on European Negotiations, Russell said: "We've seen powers being progressively eroded, last week there was much discussion about whether these powers would extend to trade deals, to health and safety and to food standards, and they will.
"Having been a member of the committee negotiating with the UK for the last four years, I can tell you - far from premature - this is now the end of the road and there is no possibility of us accepting these changes."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel