Davis accused of ‘disrespect’ over failure to appear at Holyrood
DAVID Davis has been accused of treating Holyrood with contempt after refusing to appear before MSPs to discuss Brexit ahead of Article 50 being triggered.
The UK Brexit Secretary had agreed to appear before MSPs on the European Committee, but offered his deputy David Jones instead, who then also backed out.
Mr Jones was invited to give evidence on February 9, then switched to March 16, and has now suggested a date of mid-April – after Article 50 is triggered.
It is understood UK Government ministers involved in Brexit have been ordered to cancel visits outside London around the March date in case the House of Lords rejects their Brexit plan.
SNP MSP Richard Lochhead, who sits on the committee, said: “It is astonishing that, with weeks to go before the triggering of Article 50, neither the Brexit Secretary nor his junior sidekick have deemed it a priority to appear before the Scottish Parliament.
“This is not only disrespectful to Parliament, it is disrespectful to Scotland, especially when Brexit is being described as the biggest post-war challenge we have faced.
“The failure to appear before the Holyrood committee illustrates the Tory Government’s contempt for Scotland and the will of our parliament.”
Green MSP Ross Greer added: “David Davis pledged he would come before our committee and just weeks from the Brexit process starting neither he or a single minister from his department has done so. Any suggestion Scotland is an ‘equal partner’ in the UK is just a meaningless soundbite.”
A spokesman for the Department for Exiting the EU said: “The Secretary of State for Scotland has appeared before Holyrood’s European Committee and other ministers have appeared before the Scottish Parliament.”