University chief calls for powers on immigration to be devolved

GLASGOW University’s principal has called for powers over skilled immigration to be devolved to Scotland as part of a strategy to boost universities, in a major new report.

Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli insisted Scotland “does not have access to all the tools” it needs to attract cash for research and development.

In a report commissioned by Finance Secretary Derek Mackay, the top economist also flagged the potential loss of access to EU-wide networks after Brexit.

He said: “Just to take one Brexit-related example, skilled immigration from the EU may be a key problem in ensuring that innovation can be supported by an adequate skills base which can improve the absorptive capacity of our business and industry.”

Sir Anton launched his report, Driving Innovation In Scotland – A National Mission, at the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Afterwards, he said Scotland’s immigration system could be differentiated from the UK’s through tax arrangements.

He said: “We already know from Canada and from other jurisdictions that it’s possible to do this quite easily.

“We have Scottish tax codes – you could easily have Scottish codes around national insurance which ensure that somebody would be able to work in parts of the UK and not in others. Scotland and other areas of the UK, like London, have very different needs.

“Actually a differentiated immigration system might be what the UK will need post-Brexit to ensure that we can balance the needs of some nations and regions compared to, perhaps, lesser need in other areas.

“There are ways to do that, and other countries have experimented with those systems.”

He added: “You can easily shape a policy around immigration which is territorially based and not just sector-based.”

Sir Anton’s report also calls for “some flexibility” in the relevant tax incentives between devolved nations.

Elsewhere, he said cash for research and innovation in the higher education sector must be focused “in such a way that maximises our ability to attract external funding”.

Mr Mackay said it is important to ensure Scotland’s universities “can continue to fulfil their significant potential”.

BORIS Johnson has been branded “dangerous and unfit for office” by Nicola Sturgeon as she launched her party’s election manifesto with an attack on the Prime Minister.

The SNP leader said she would not help return Johnson to Downing Street but instead said that, while not being a fan of Jeremy Corbyn, she could deal with the Labour leader.

She set out a list of reasons why she felt Johnson unfit.

The First Minister said: “His comments on Muslim women and gay people, the way in which he casually insults and offends, we cannot trust a single word that comes out of his mouth, he dodges scrutiny...

“He is absolutely set on taking Scotland out of the EU against our will. These are just some of the reasons I think Boris Johnson is unfit to be Prime Minister.”

At the launch at Glasgow nightclub venue SWG3, Sturgeon focused on denying the Tories a majority, stopping Brexit and demands for a second independence referendum.

Sturgeon said the NHS would be under threat from a Boris Johnson trade deal with Donald Trump, and that a No-Deal Brexit would be a “disaster” and a “catastrophe for jobs”.

She added: “His dream is a nightmare for Scotland.”

The First Minister said that being asked to choose between a Corbyn or Johnson government at Westminster was like being “caught between the devil and the deep blue sea”.

She said that while she would not choose Corbyn as Labour leader, Labour had more in common with the SNP in social and economic outlook than the Tories did.

She added: “The Labour manifesto borrowed quite a lot of the SNP manifesto.”

She listed free prescriptions, free personal care and publicly