‘Do your job’, Mundell told in Brexit row

● UK to intensify talks with SNP in bid to ease ‘power grab’ fears

The UK government says it will “intensify” Brexit talks with devolved administrations following a row over its failure to meet a commitment to amend legislation at the heart of “power grab” claims.

David Lidington, the minister put in charge of talks with the SNP administration in this week’s reshuffle, told MPS the government was hopeful of making a breakthrough when the EU Withdrawal Bill reaches the House of Lords.

It comes as Scottish Secretary David Mundell faces criticism for failing to keep to a commitment to amend Clause 11 of the bill before the final stage of scrutiny in the House of Commons.

The government was forced to admit on Tuesday that it had run out of time to make the changes demanded by opposition parties and its own

0 Scottish Secretary David Mundell listens to the exchanges during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons yesterday Scottish MPS. Fears have been raised that the legislation will lead to a post-brexit “power grab” over 111 responsibilities in devolved areas that are currently held in Brussels.

The Scottish and Welsh gov- ernments have said they will refuse to give legislative consent to the Withdrawal Bill as currently drafted, risking a constitutional crisis.

Scottish ministers wrote to the Holyrood presiding officer Ken Macintosh yesterday informing him that a “continuity bill”, directly challenging Westminster’s authority over the disputed powers, would be introduced in the Scottish Parliament in February and asking for it to be passed on an accelerated timetable.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford told Theresa May she had “one last chance” to produce amendments before the final Commons debate next week, warning: “The Tories always promise Scotland everything and deliver nothing.”

In a stark message to the Scottish Secretary, Mr Blackford later said: “David, do your job. You’re there to be the Secretary of State for Scotland. Demonstrate to the country that you can do that.”

Mr Mundell is understood to have approached Scottish MPS privately to apologise for the delay.

Mr Lidington, a former Europe minister whose appointment as Cabinet Office minister has been welcomed by SNP insiders, spoke to Deputy First Minister John Swinney on Tuesday and is expected to travel to Scotland within days to restart dialogue between London and Edinburgh.

A plenary meeting of the joint ministerial committee, involving Theresa May and the heads of the devolved administrations, is expected early next month. Labour is facing a major rebellion over its Brexit policy next week after the SNP revealed it would put forward an amendment calling for the UK to stay in the EU single market when the Withdrawal Bill reaches its final stage of Commons debate.

Following a summit on Tuesday attended by the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Plaid Cymru, opposition parties have agreed to push forward an amendment that could force a split on the Labour benches.

Jeremy Corbyn has refused to take part in the new cross-party campaign for a soft Brexit inside the EU single market, saying the move isn’t compatible with the Brexit referendum result.

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: “It think we’ve got a very strong position. We’ve got the four parties working together, and there will be members from the Labour benches as well as I suspect some Conservatives that might be prepared to support this position.”

A previous parliamentary bid on the single market in June saw 50 Labour MPS rebel, with four frontbenchers losing their jobs.