Dismantle devolution

Fury as top Tory claims Scotland's powers should return to the UK Government

- ANDREW QUINN

A TOP Tory has sparked fury by demanding that devolution should be put "into reverse" and the Scottish Parliament stripped of powers.

Unelected Lord David Frost claimed that "it's time to reverse the process of devolution, in a column he wrote for an English newspaper.

The former diplomat, who led Boris Johnson's chaotic Brexit negotiations, said Tory ministers should "review and roll back some currently devolved powers" if they win the next general election.

But the call provoked an angry reaction, with First Minister Humza Yousaf accusing the Tory of attempting to "dismantle devolution".

And the comments exposed a major split among Tories, with one Scottish Conservative MSP calling Frost's comments "nonsense".

At First Minister's Questions, Yousaf hit out: "Lord Frost, unelected Tory peer, gave the game away. He said the quiet bit out loud.

"He said what every single Scottish Conservative really thinks.

"It's hardly a surprise that the party that didn't support the Scottish Parliament now wants to dismantle the Scottish Parliament.

"But let me be abundantly clear - whether it's on the Section 35 veto, whether it's their inability to grant an exemption under the Internal Market Act, whether it's the fact they want to curtail our excellent international development work or external engagement, with the SNP-led Scottish Government we will always defend our democracy and we will always defend the voice of the Scottish people.