THE SNP’s Joanna Cherry has called for the resignation of Scotland’s Advocate General.
Richard Keen, who has held the position as the nation’s chief adviser on Scots law since May 2015, is rumoured to be considering his position after the UK Government announced plans to break international law.
The Internal Market Bill, which will be brought to the Commons tomorrow, aims to ensure goods from Northern Ireland continue to have unfettered access to the UK market while making clear EU state aid rules - which will continue to apply in Northern Ireland - will not apply in the rest of the UK.
However, that means discarding key sections of the Withdrawal Agreement, which sealed the UK's departure from the EU in January.
Jonathan Jones, who served as Treasury solicitor and permanent secretary of the UK Government’s Legal Department, stepped down earlier today over the plans to change parts of that agreement.
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Cherry told The National that Keen should “show the same courage of his convictions” as Jones and hand in his resignation.
The MP and QC, who led the successful legal challenge against Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament last year, said: “Richard Keen, as the UK Government’s law officer for Scotland, stood by the prorogation of parliament by Boris Johnson’s government.
“That decision was found to be unlawful by a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court.
“Less than a year later the UK Government is intent on breaching its international treaty obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement.”
The Government admitted earlier today that it was breaking international law in seeking to change the agreement, but said it was only doing so “in a very specific and limited way”.
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Talking to The National about the development, Cherry said: “I would not expect Law Officers to remain in their post where the Government they advise proposes to take unlawful action.
“Richard Keen should protect the integrity of Scots law and governance, he should show the same courage of his convictions as Jonathan Jones, the head of the UK Government’s legal division, and quit.”
If he does go, Keen would be the seventh senior civil servant to quit this year.
Jones, Cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill, Simon McDonald from the Foreign Office, Philip Rutnam from the Home Office, Richard Heaton from the Ministry of Justice, and Jonathan Slater from the Department for Education have all stood down.
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