Russell told to break secrecy pledge to UK government in Brexit analysis row

● Minister accused of ‘hypocrisy’ over 850-page impact dossier ● SNP chief says UK must move on ‘power grab’ ahead of talks

Brexit Minister Mike Russell has come under fire from opposition MSPS over his refusal to publish key papers on the impact of leaving the European Union.

The SNP was accused of “hypocrisy” for demanding publication of the Brexit dossier at Westminster only for Mr Russell to tell a Holyrood committee the information would be kept private at the request of the UK government.

The Scottish Government was given the 850-page dossier by the UK government on Monday on the basis that it was kept confidential.

Mr Russell was pressed on the issue at Holyrood yesterday as a report by an economics think-tank revealed an estimated 134,000 jobs in Scotland are supported by exports to the EU.

The research, by the Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University, said this meant almost 6 per cent of total employment in Scotland was “supported by demand currently driven by exports to the EU”.

In response, Mr Russell repeated calls for the UK government to “change course away from a hard Brexit” and keep Britain in the European single market.

“This report shows the threat Brexit poses to jobs and the risks to some of the most important sectors of our economy,” he said. Theresa May’s deputy will meet Mr Russell and John Swinney, the deputy First Minister, today in Edinburgh for more talks aimed at averting a constitutional crisis.

A spokesman for the First Secretary of State Damian Green said the UK government was hopeful of progress towards resolving a row over claims of a Brexit “power grab” and securing the consent of Holyrood for crucial legislation to allow Britain to leave the EU.

It was revealed in Scotland on Sunday that senior SNP and Scottish Conservative figures were preparing for the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which will transfer EU law into British statute and keep powers returning from Brussels in devolved areas at Westminster, to be amended when it moves to the House of Lords in the new year.

But Ian Blackford, the SNP’S Westminster leader, took a tough stance, saying: “What has happened is an absolute disgrace.

“We have had what can only be described as a power grab where 111 powers within the competencies of the Scottish Parliament have been interfered with … the UK government are going to have to move considerably.”

Mr Russell was yesterday accused of withholding key documents from MSPS and the public. The dossier contains details about the impact of leaving the EU on 58 different sectors of the economy.

Mr Russell told the Scottish Parliament’s finance and constitution committee the document had been handed over “on the understanding that we would not publish it”.

He told MSPS: “I think in those circumstances certainly we are not going to publish it.”

But Green co-leader Patrick Harvie questioned the decision by the Scottish ministers to “accept that information from the government on the basis of secrecy”. He told Mr Russell he was “disturbed” by the decision to “withhold it from parliamentary scrutiny and from public scrutiny”.