Game on for Murray
SIR Andy Murray led the charge of British players on day one of Wimbledon as he won his first match at SW19.
The world number one and defending champion was watched by the Duchess of Cambridge and his pregnant wife Lady Kim Sears when he beat Alexander Bublik 6-1 6-4 6-2.
Play was disrupted twice by rain, but the Scots tennis star wrapped up the match comfortably in an hour and 44 minutes. There was concern for the defending champion after he lost in the first round of the Aegon Championships and pulled out of two practice matches before Wimbledon. But after the victory, he said: “My hip felt good. It’s a little bit sore, but I was moving really good on the court today. You know, that’s the most important thing.” SCOTTISH ministers have signalled their intention to launch a formal disputes procedure with the UK Government over Theresa May’s “squalid” £1 billion deal with the Democratic Unionists, which could end up in a face-to-face showdown between the Prime Minister and Nicola Sturgeon.
Scottish Economy Secretary Keith Brown was in London for a raft of pre-arranged meetings with transport, defence and pensions ministers, although his planned talks with Business Secretary Greg Clark were called off. Mr Brown said he felt he had been snubbed by the Cabinet minister.
Despite his talks on a number of issues, the one overshadowing his visit was the row that has blown up over Mrs May’s agreement with Arlene Foster’s DUP. This will see Northern Ireland receive £1bn extra for public services during the next two years in exchange for the DUP’s 10 MPs backing the UK Government in key Commons votes, thus providing it with a working majority.
While Whitehall has insisted the agreed windfall is outwith the usual distribution method of the Barnett Formula, Mr Brown claimed it breached the fair funding rules established with devolution and that Scotland was, consequently, entitled to £2.9bn.
“This is not about saying actually we have an issue in Northern Ireland, we have to give them some more health and education funding, this is about preserving the Tories in power; it’s a squalid deal. It’s not transparent in its effects on the rest of the UK. That’s why we are saying it’s wrong,” said Mr Brown.
His colleague, Finance Secretary Derek Mackay, last week wrote a letter to Treasury Chief Secretary Liz Truss asking for details about the DUP deal and raising
the prospect of invoking a formal dispute.
“Derek Mackay is the one who is taking that forward and he has said he will instigate the disputes process. If there is no resolution, then yes [the dispute procedure should be invoked]. Of course, if it offends against the fair funding principles, then we should challenge it.”
Mr Brown said Ms Truss, in her response to Mr Mackay’s letter, had made clear there would be no change to UK departmental spending. He added: “The reason why this is important is that means the money for Northern
Ireland has to be found from other UK budgets… Scotland, far from getting its share of the deal, is potentially going to have to contribute towards it.
“The UK Government’s current position goes directly against the principles of devolution and we will be looking for cross-party support.”
The dispute process is governed by the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC), the intergovernmental body that involves Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and London.
If the dispute were not resolved, then the parties could agree to disagree or “exceptionally, a request [can be made] by any party that the dispute be considered by a JMC plenary meeting”. Such plenary meetings involve the first ministers from the devolved administrations and are usually chaired by the Prime Minister. VETERANS Minister Keith Brown has urged the Ministry of Defence to reconsider planned site closures in Scotland after a meeting with UK Government counterparts in London.
It was announced last year that eight military sites in Scotland – including Fort George near Inverness, Glencorse Barracks near Penicuik, Midlothian, and Redford in Edinburgh – are among more than 56