PRIME MINISTER IS TWEETING USELESS
RUTH Davidson “hit the roof” after Theresa May posted a Twitter message suggesting Scotland was independent.
The Scottish Tory leader gave her Westminster colleagues a telling off after the cock-up on the Prime Minister’s official account on Tuesday.
May had just met First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Downing Street for talks over Brexit.
After the meeting, May’s account tweeted: “The UK and Scotland must continue to work together to ensure businesses and consumers have the certainty they need as we leave the EU.”
Spectator journalist Isabel Hardman joked: “It’s been a busy few days but I’m amazed we all missed Scotland leaving the UK in the midst of it.”
But Davidson – who played a key role in the 2014 campaign to keep Scotland in the UK – was fuming.
A source close to the Tory leader said: “Ruth hit the roof when the tweet was posted.
“It clearly wasn’t the PM’s fault but Ruth made it clear to No10 that this kind of language only plays into the hands of the SNP by making it sound as if Scotland is a separate country to the UK.”
A Downing Street source told the Record there is now a “brutal blame game” going on in No10 over who was responsible for the blunder.
It’s understood the tweet was meant to refer to the need for the “Scottish and UK Governments” to work together on Brexit.
An SNP source said: “This tweet is the highlight of May’s premiership.”
The “cordial” meeting in Downing Street saw Sturgeon and May inch closer towards a Brexit devolution deal.
The First Minister said she was “hopeful” of a breakthrough in the deadlock over whether Brussels powers should be devolved straight to Scotland or rest in Westminster.
Sturgeon said she and the PM had reached “a better understanding of each other’s positions”.
The sign of a thaw came as the EU Withdrawal Bill returned to the Commons to begin its line by line scrutiny and crucial votes.
Both Scottish and Welsh governments continue to refuse consent for the Bill unless Westminster surrenders on a so-called “power grab” of EU responsibilities and devolves them directly to Edinburgh and Cardiff.
Sturgeon has said the Bill is still unacceptable in its current form.