Prime Minister invites Sturgeon to talks in bid to end impasse

Theresa May has invited the First Minister to sit down for Brexit talks in a bid to end the impasse between the two governments.

The Prime Minister has said she wants to break the deadlock over how powers are repatriated from Brussels.

Nicola Sturgeon has accused the Tories of a “power grab” through its Repeal Bill, which transfers Brussels’ laws on to domestic statute books at the point of Brexit.

She says her MSPs and MPs cannot support the Bill, which will go before Holyrood, without major changes.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said they would welcome the opportunity to discuss the issue.

The meeting is expected to happen in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Brexit Secretary David Davis told delegates in Manchester that officials are making “contingency arrangements” in case a deal is not reached with Brussels.

He said: “On the negotiating front, we are aiming for a good deal, and that is what we expect to achieve.

“However, if the outcome of the negotiation falls short of the deal that Britain needs, we will be ready for the alternative.

“That is what a responsible government does.

“Anything else would be a dereliction of duty.

“So there is a determined exercise under way in Whitehall devoted to contingency arrangements so that we are ready for any outcome.

“Not because it is what we seek, but because it needs to be done.”

Speaking in the US, Sir Alan Duncan, Boris Johnson’s deputy, said the EU referendum vote was in part the result of Leave voters throwing a “bit of a tantrum” over immigration

He said traditional blue-collar Labour supporters had been “stirred up” by the immigration issue in the final days of the campaign.

Theresa May will meet Nicola Sturgeon.