STURGEON & WELSH FM PLEA FOR MORE TIME
NICOLA Sturgeon and her Welsh counterpart have called for more time to scrutinise the new Brexit deal and potentially hold a second referendum in letters sent to Boris Johnson and Donald Tusk.
The correspondence, signed by the Scottish First Minister and Mark Drakeford, described the Bill as among the most important pieces of legislation considered by the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales.
The legislation was due to be published yesterday.
Due to the Bill legislating on matters devolved to the Scottish and Welsh administrations, approval is needed from Holyrood and Cardiff before it can be passed.
The First Ministers’ letters have called for an extension to the Brexit process to be approved to allow time for the devolved administrations to scrutinise the Bill in detail.
In their letter to European Council president Tusk, the politicians also pledged their support for a second referendum on EU membership, calling for an extension long enough to allow for the poll, which would have the option to remain. The letter addressed to Johnson said: “We share the view that the time between now and October 31 provides insufficient opportunity to undertake this essential scrutiny.”
In their letter to Tusk, Sturgeon and Drakeford said it would would be “simply impossible for us to fulfil our constitutional responsibilities in this timescale”.