SNP knew when to throw the spanner

SIR, – Nicola Sturgeon’s call for another independence referendum was a deliberate spoiler to the anticipated triggering of Article 50. She has effectively jumped straight out of the frying pan into the fire. It would appear that even Scotland’s wellbeing as part of the UK has been transcended and the SNP are now prepared to cause as much damage as possible to the UK as a whole.

This is a quite deliberate political attempt to seriously weaken the UK, increase the inherent difficulties of Brexit as much as possible, and undermine the possible effectiveness of the negotiations with the EU. Some in the EU will no doubt be delighted that the UK’s position has been deliberately sabotaged from within. This makes their hand even stronger.

Although the call for a referendum before Brexit is completed is given the pretext of being an urgent matter that is time-critical, this is in fact a complete illusion. The simple fact is that Scotland would need to re-apply for EU membership as an independent country whenever it had been achieved. It will take some time. There is no short cut.

That is if that is truly the final SNP plan. In reality at least a hard core of about one third of the SNP members do not want to join the EU. They want independence from both the UK and EU. The economic case for this is even weaker. David Philip, Knockhall

Way, Newburgh