DOUGLAS Ross has defended the UK Government following news it is referring two Holyrood laws to the Supreme Court.
The Scottish Government has warned Westminster to “see us in court” as Tories seek to have a landmark children’s rights bill scrapped.
Legal officers claim MSPs may have gone beyond the Parliament’s powers in incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the European Charter of Local Self-Government, into Scots law.
Both pieces of legislation received cross-party backing in Holyrood last month, but the Supreme Court will now rule on their competence.
READ MORE: Tories' Supreme Court challenge a 'jaw-dropping' assault on devolution
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called the UK move “jaw dropping”, while her deputy John Swinney described it as “deeply menacing”.
Speaking to Global in Edinburgh this morning, the Scottish Tory leader defended the UK’s position.
“The Scottish Conservatives backed that bill in Holyrood, it was unanimously approved by the Scottish Parliament. The UK Government have very small, technical, legal issues with a couple of sections of the Bill and it’s right that they now test that in the Supreme Court.
"That’s what the Scotland Act of 1998 designed as a mechanism to resolve these issues. But the crucial issue is that both Scottish Conservatives in Holyrood and indeed the UK Government have said they have nothing against the Bill or its aims, there are just technical legal aspects that have to be resolved.”
.@ScotTories leader @Douglas4Moray tells me UK Gov challenging parts of two bills passed by Scottish Parliament is not an attack on devolution.
— Alan Zycinski (@AlanJZycinski) April 13, 2021
MSPs unanimously approved the legislation on children's rights and local government in March. @LBC @LBCNews pic.twitter.com/YWRhXSjhax
Ross was asked about the First Minister’s characterisation of the UK move, which appears on the front page of The National this morning.
He replied: “Well I think nearly every front page of The National speaks about an attack on devolution. And it’s not. We have two governments, I think they work best when they work together. There have been opportunities for the Scottish Government to take on board some of the concerns prior to the passage of the Bill. They didn’t do that.”
Yesterday, deputy FM John Swinney slammed the Tories. “Not a single voice in the Parliament was raised against the bill,” he commented. “It passed unanimously. And, crucially, it has been certified independently by the Presiding Officer as being within the powers of the Scottish Parliament. Now, the Tory Westminster Government is trying to veto those rights. That is not just morally repugnant but it is also deeply menacing.
“The only people who need fear this bill are people who want to breach children’s rights. The only people who want to block this bill are people who know they are already breaking those rights.”
READ MORE: This is everything you need to know about the STV leaders' debate
The UK Government accused Scottish ministers of “stirring a constitutional row”.
The UK move is likely to come up at tonight’s STV leaders’ debate, where Ross will appear with Sturgeon, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, LibDem chief Willie Rennie and Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie.
The debate will be aired on the STV channel, starting at 7.30pm and ending at 9pm. Viewers in the south of Scotland look set to miss out, however, as it is not scheduled to be broadcast on ITV Border.
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