STURGEON BIDDING TO WOO EU WORKERS TO THE SNP’S CAUSE

NICOLA Sturgeon will try to reassure Europeans over their future in Scotland this week.

The First Minister is hosting a question and answer session in Edinburgh for 500 people from about a dozen countries. But she faced criticism yesterday for trying to ‘score political points with people’s lives’.

The UK Government has not triggered Article 50, the legal mechanism to start the lengthy divorce from the EU.

Key issues such as freedom of movement and access to the EU single market are yet to be negotiated, so the reassurance the First Minister can provide will be limited. It is more likely she will use the event to make an independence pitch to EU nationals, who SNP sources say will be a key separation campaign target. She has been on an EU charm offensive trying to secure a deal that would allow Scotland to maintain membership even as the UK leaves.

At the weekend, she said: ‘It is my duty as First Minister to speak on behalf of all Scottish citizens, including those who have chosen to come from other parts of the EU and make Scotland their home. They have brought a wealth of social, economic and cultural benefits and have enriched our society. And as I said on the day after the referendum, they remain very welcome here.

‘My Cabinet and I are determined to provide reassurance and certainty, wherever we can, to those who have come to Scotland and have contributed so valuably.’

But Scottish Tory deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon should stop trying to score political points with people’s lives. Instead of parading around Europe, the First Minister should be working with the UK Government to get the best possible deal for the United Kingdom.’

Paul Sinclair and Comment – Page 16